Barney Reynolds (London), partner and head of the global Financial Institutions Advisory & Financial Regulatory Group, spoke at the Financial Times Banking Summit on November 16, 2016 in London.
For many banks, attempts to get the banking sector “back to normal” after the 2008 financial crisis have felt like the curse of Sisyphus — their boulders made all the heavier by regulatory demands, public opinion and outmoded IT systems. Yet, despite the (cautious) optimism shown by the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate raise, the banks’ burdens show no sign of easing. The brutal market gyrations that accompanied the start of 2016 were as sudden as they were perplexing, and rapid technological advances have thrown open new market opportunities for new challengers and FinTech start-ups. In recent days, however, these crises and challenges have faded into seeming insignificance, as the world wakes up to a post-EU Britain and a post-Britain EU, and the financial sector must prepare for potentially radical changes in trade tariffs, freedom of movement, taxes and interest rates. The conference brought together senior executives across the banking sector to look at security, agility and resilience in volatile times.
Reynolds spoke on the interview session, "To Regulate or Not to Regulate: How Can Regulators Level the Playing Field Across the Financial Services Sector, and How Will Brexit Affect EU Regulation?". The session looked at the recent impact of Brexit on the broader EU banking agenda, including discussions on how regulators should account for shadow banking as well as increasing digitization, what future bank capital structures will look like, the potential for regulatory drift between UK and EU banking sectors, and which European legislation would UK banks be happy to do without.
The session was moderated by Caroline Binham, Financial Regulation Correspondent, Financial Times, and panelists include Morten Baltzersen, Director General, Finanstilsynet (Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway) and Andrea Enria, Chairperson, European Banking Authority.
