RegTech solutions simplify the task of regulation in the financial services sector. They streamline both regulatory research and the organisation of regulatory activities. But the right solutions, like e-Reg in Switzerland, go further. Find out how they combine internal regulations (directives, policies, etc.) with external sources, with numerous benefits for their users.
1 – RegTech tools: solutions for managing financial regulation
Whether you work for a bank or a consultancy firm handling regulatory matters in Switzerland, you will be familiar with the complexity of the financial regulation.
1.1 – Large quantities of information to be researched and managed
The management of financial regulation involves thousands of pages of various sources to be consulted, interpreted and sometimes compared. These include the explanatory reports issued by the FDF and FINMA. Then there is the self-regulation that comes from the directives, recommendations and positions of the SBA and the AMAS.
In addition, certain regulatory changes are justified by other legal sources. This is the case, for example, with the New Data Protection Act (nLPD). Finally, the financial services sector knows the importance of consulting draft legislation such as that relating to final Basel III.
1.2 – The need to simplify financial regulations
Managing financial regulations is often a real concern. It is a time-consuming and costly process, not to mention the risk of non-compliance. For these financial services players, it means looking for ways to simplify the process. Solutions exist thanks to Regulatory Technology or RegTech.
1.3 – The principles of RegTech
The definition of RegTech can be summed up as follows: a range of technological services for the banking sector to comply or remain compliant with both regulations and laws.
Whether they are working alone or as part of a team on a regulatory project, financial services specialists have their work facilitated using RegTech solutions. For example, they can document all their special treatments dematerialised or train a back-up for holidays.
1.4 – Why and how should the financial services sector go further than external regulation?
RegTech brings transparency and consistency. It helps to standardise regulatory processes. However, these professionals who deal with regulation have broader needs than just sources of information external to the banking institution.
a – Need to access the institution’s internal policies in addition to legal financial regulations
Each banking institution must issue its own provisions that must be complied with. These may take the form of internal regulations, procedures, directives, codes of conduct or policies drawn up by the bank itself. For the specialists concerned, it makes sense to be able to consult all the financial regulations, both internal and external, in one place. This allows them to see directly how the bank deals with an external regulatory requirement.
b – Use of RegTech solutions that combine the two types of regulation, internal and external
Some RegTech solutions such as e-Reg make internal and external document management possible in a single instance solution. This means that compliance teams have all the latest information in one place. They benefit from similar functionalities for both internal and external financial regulations:
- search engine ;
- collaborative solution ;
- management of links between the two types of data (in the context of the regulations consulted) ;
- etc.
2 – e-Reg, a platform for combining internal and external financial regulation
At easyReg, we are well aware of the needs of financial services, so we have designed our collaborative online platform e-Reg to keep both the external and internal regulatory environment under control.
2.1 – Functions of our RegTech for regulatory specialists in Swiss banks
With our RegTech system, banks and the companies that advise them on regulatory matters can :
- Carry out a regulatory search in all texts as well as working notes and user comments, in several languages.
- Obtain additional information essential for analysis and understanding, the regulatory context.
- Write comments and inform the team.
- Manage a project collaboratively by assigning tasks to named individuals.
- Manage knowledge and regulatory libraries.
2.2 – The advantages of internal financial regulation stored in a private and segregated environment
e-Reg is a RegTech solution that offers the option of adding your own internal policies and procedures to the tool. In this way, each financial institution can improve compliance monitoring and enforcement. By adopting this platform, users increase their regulatory oversight. Only users who choose a fully segregated environment can benefit from this functionality.
Obviously, this bank-specific financial data remains accessible only to that bank. The RegTech solution separates this information for internal use into separate, secure compartments.
a – Have an overview of all relevant points for better control and risk limitation
Banks that add their own internal financial regulations to e-Reg benefit from enriched results. By performing a regulatory search, using a keyword or a reference (ordinances or FINMA Circulars, for example), they improve the context of their search. Each clickable link at the bottom of the screen can be used to link external and internal regulatory information.
b – Use the power of search functions for internal financial regulation too
It is therefore a system that maximises the use of banks’ internal policies and procedures. With e-Reg, users benefit from the power of the platform’s search engine, and not just for external regulations. This reduces the risk of forgetting an internal bank directive or requirements that already exist as part of a regulatory activity. It also means that questions from internal and external auditors can be answered more quickly.
c – Centralise all information into one place to save maximum time
This means that financial services staff can access all the information they need at the click of a button. They save time. They can be sure of having an comprehensive and concise view of the texts of acts, regulations and circulars, as well as internal procedures, without having to consult multiple systems.
d – Automatically manage versions, historical records and any translations of internal regulations
Our RegTech solution can keep track of the different versions of internal regulatory information. It automatically manages any translations into English, French, German or Italian of the internal regulatory policies of banks in Switzerland.
e – Working with e-Reg, a plus also for monitoring the bank’s internal regulatory framework
Finally, those in charge of a regulatory change project based on internal bank provisions benefit from the collaborative aspect of e-Reg. Thanks to the dashboard integrated into the application, they can visualise the progress of the tasks to be carried out. There’s no need to use other project management systems.
2.3 – Example of the use of e-Reg to manage the internal regulatory framework of financial institutions
You search in e-reg for “BCM”, the name of an internal directive at your bank. Here is how the result is displayed in e-Reg :
You can see how the solution monitors a bank’s internal financial regulations. Key external regulations also appear in the result. These include the new FINMA Circular 23/01, which will replace FINMA Circular 08/21. The self-regulation on the subject, “ASB Business Continuity Management”, is also included.
Banks’ internal financial regulations are best controlled using a RegTech solution. By inserting your own procedures and policies into our regulatory management application, you can fully leverage all the benefits of e-Reg. We can show you how to implement this process in a personalised demo.