Gary Watson’s perspectives on the FCA regulatory issues that matter most to fintechs and smaller financial services firms, from sanctions screening and financial crime controls to Consumer Duty and the FCA’s evolving supervisory priorities. Drawing on over two decades in financial services regulation, including nine years as a bank’s Head of Compliance and MLRO, these opinion pieces look beyond the rulebook at what regulatory change actually means for firms navigating FCA authorisation and ongoing compliance. Gary is also a regular opinion contributor to GRIP, where several of these articles first appeared.
The FCA has now written to all registered Annex 1 firms about their AML controls. Gary Watson looks at how we got here, what the regulator is concerned about, and what comes next for Annex 1 firms and the banks that fund them.
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Whilst the OFSI £1m fine is eye-catching, why do sanctions screening failures keep recurring? Are we stuck on the sanctions screening hamster wheel, and is there a need for structural change?
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The regulator is entering an important phase of transitional change, crypto regulation, BNPL, consumer protection, economic growth. Gary Watson examines how the FCA is navigating competing pressures as it matures.
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Gary Watson explores the themes and tensions raised in the FCA's Dear CEO letter, asking whether the drive for economic growth and the obligation to protect consumers can genuinely coexist.
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The challenges of combining the SMF16 and SMF17 roles are significant. Gary Watson reflects on the growing expectations placed on Heads of Compliance and MLROs in an increasingly demanding regulatory environment.
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