News & Insights

Exploring CAIS, CAT, and the shift toward more secure regulatory data reporting.

Discover our latest feature, Benchmarking now live in the En>ACT Platform.

A look at the future trends and technologies that will impact Content Management Systems.

We’re delighted to announce that Novatus Global has been recognised as Regulatory Solutions Provider of the Year at the Global Derivatives Awards.

Another award for Novatus, adding to our global recognition.

Novatus Global is proud to partner with Snowflake to solve one of the most critical and complex data challenges in financial services: transaction reporting.

Novatus Global obtains Recertification of its Compliance with the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Standard, Demonstrating our Continued Commitment to Information Security and Risk Management Excellence through Enhanced Data Security Practices.

The s166 Review is rooted in s166 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”), which grants the FCA authority to require a firm to appoint a skilled person – or to appoint one directly – to examine specific aspects of a regulated business.

On the 22nd January 2024, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published a revision to the UK Corporate Governance Code (UK CG Code), and with some of the changes having come into force for accounting periods beginning in or after the 1st January 2025, it is important to understand what is now expected of boards.

Within Private Markets, General Partners (GPs) want to scale their operations and grow AuM without increasing headcount. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is expected to generate $6.1 trillion in productivity gains by 2030. Therefore, adopting AI will be crucial to current and future operating models to achieve strategic objectives.

Since generative AI’s introduction to the world stage in November 2022, AI and governing AI have become central topics to conversations around the future of business, operational efficiency and costs cutting.

Novatus Global is dedicated to embedding sustainability into the core of our operations. As of January 2025, Novatus Global is proud to rank in the top 15% of our industry with a commendable EcoVadis score of 67.

Drawing from Novatus’ extensive experience in setting up TM rule sets and systems, assisting with vendor selection, and developing comprehensive policies and procedures, we are sharing three key challenges that financial services firms frequently face when conducting TM.

On 6th November 2024, the Home Office released guidance on the Failure to Prevent Fraud Offence as part of the ECCTA.

From early beginnings to enabling business, this article explores the challenges firms face in different stages of their ICARA Process journey

We are proud to announce that our award-winning En:ACT platform is now available through LSEG Post Trade. This development enables LSEG clients to leverage best-in-class assurance and reconciliation solutions

Regulation 18 of the MLRs requires firms to have a Financial Crime Business Wide Risk Assessment (BWRA) in place.

On 5 March 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published a Dear CEO letter to Annex 1 firms identifying common failings in financial crime controls.

The EMIR Refit, which amends the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), went live across the EU on 29 April 2024.

Thanks to ASIC Rewrite, 2024 is a big year for financial trading operations and compliance teams charged with meeting mandatory transaction reporting obligations.

The ASIC Rewrite goes live on 21 October, 2024, tightening reporting rules in line with the EMIR (European Market Infrastructure Regulation) and CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) rewrites happening in Europe and North America

Over the past few years, we have seen the international sustainability reporting landscape develop at a rapid pace, with the IFRS Foundation’s ISSB Standards at the forefront of many of these developments.

The European Commission recently published its two consultations (public and targeted) with the intention of revising the SFDR’s implementation in September.

With under three months to go until the implementation of the Consumer Duty, the FCA has published the findings of its review of fair value frameworks.

DORA legislation aims to enhance the operational resilience of firms by focusing on the management of digital risks, ensuring the continuity of critical business functions, and safeguarding customer interests.

Matthew Ranson, Regulatory Advisory and RegTech Partner at Novatus Advisory, participated in the EMIR REFIT panel discussion, “Ready to REFIT: RegTech’s role in preparing FSIs for the EMIR REFIT”, at the recent FSTech RegTech Live Conference.

One year on from the initial implementation of the Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR), the FCA has published a multi-firm review looking at the approaches adopted to implement the regulation’s requirements.

On behalf of your industry peers who have made the effort, we can confirm that the Consumer Duty will not go away. Their hard work has not been wasted. And you still have time to deliver. But you must act now. The deadline of 31 July [2023] will not be moved.

On 21 February 2023, we held our third EMIR REFIT Roundtable, exploring EMIR challenges and REFIT implementation readiness, using the Novatus EMIR REFIT Implementation Readiness Report as a backdrop.

The FCA is doubling down on the centrality of operational resilience. Regulators are keen to emphasise the importance of operational resilience not only in terms of protecting consumers, but also the wider market and firms themselves.

We have conducted our first research study investigating the impact of the upcoming EMIR REFIT rules from the perspective of 100 decision-makers for transaction reporting in the UK.

The FCA published PS22/9 the ‘New Consumer Duty’ (the Duty) in July 2022. This new regulatory obligation creates an enhanced set of conduct standards and practices, requiring firms to put the best interests of customers at the forefront of their business.

Hastened by the COVID-19 pandemic and compounded by ongoing digitalisation efforts, the PRA, FCA, and BoE have made it clear that operational resilience is as important as financial resilience.

The focus of risk in the financial industry has changed dramatically in the past few years. Greater integration in the sector has created a complex web of third-party interdependencies.

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) comes into force on 17 January 2025. Between now and the go-live date what are the key things you need to know?

As part of an ongoing push by U.K. regulators to shore up the operational resilience of firms and financial market infrastructures (FMIs), the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSM Bill; “the Bill”) sets out to overhaul the powers for supervisory authorities to designate and subsequently regulate what they deem to be ‘critical third parties’ (CTPs).

ASIC recently published a set of changes to its transaction reporting rules, scheduled to go live on 21 October 2024.

The Novatus ESG team have followed COP-27 closely, and paid particular attention to the EU Side Events, where regulations and standards designed to tackle climate change were in the spotlight.

Firms often wonder how much regulators truly scrutinise the data quality of their submissions.

The FCA reaffirmed Transaction Reporting as a key focus area through the publication of Market Watch 70. The notification contains commentary on a wide range of issues and outlines the FCA’s expectations for compliance.

EMIR REFIT constitutes the largest change since EMIR’s inception and introduces a wide range of new reporting requirements and control framework enhancements.

The introduction of the updated UK Stewardship Code 2020 clearly reflects these influences, bringing much higher standards for firms to meet under the new Principles and a revised definition of Stewardship.

Investment firms subject to the new Investment Firm Prudential Regime (IFPR) will have to review their risk assessments when undertaking their Internal Capital Adequacy and Risk Assessment (ICARA) process

The FCA has released two new consultation papers regarding climate-related disclosure rules and firms have until 10 September 2021 to absorb and respond to the proposals.

We are thrilled to announce that we have joined the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF), a membership organisation committed to growing sustainable and responsible finance in the UK.

The Financial Services Bill has received royal assent and is now law. The Act creates a regulatory framework for financial services in the UK post-Brexit. Areas covered include:

The FCA’s second Consultation Paper (CP21/7) on the IFPR was published yesterday in the run-up to the implementation of a new prudential regime for MiFID investment firms from January 2022.

An operational resilience framework is only effective if it works under pressure. Firms should conduct regular scenario testing to put their framework to the test and ensure they comply with regulatory expectations, such as the UK FCA’s PS21/3 Building Operational Resilience rules.

The external risks posed by the network of external suppliers and vendors are divided into two main categories: third-party risk and concentration risk.

Due to evolving regulations, most financial services firms are now undertaking digital transformation projects to remain competitive in an increasingly digitised environment.

The deadline for UK firms to fully embed their resilience frameworks passed on 31 March 2025. Now that the implementation period is over, firms should shift their focus from designing and implementing the frameworks to demonstrating compliance with operational resilience regulations.

In the modern digital era of heightened operational risk from cyber threats and other major incidents, this principle of delivering good outcomes also extends directly to the firm’s commitment to resilience planning.

Operational resilience is not a one-off, tick-box exercise. It is a continuous cycle of preparation, response and review, and firms should make use of every incident, near-miss or failure as an opportunity to learn and adapt.

Cybersecurity is a critical component of operational resilience plans, forming a distinct function within that much broader framework. Cybersecurity detects and prevents cyber attacks, while operational resilience plans outline how to recover from such incidents.

The European Union’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is a landmark regulation within European markets to harmonise and strengthen operational resilience against Information and Communication Technology (ICT) risks.

The UK’s operational resilience framework prioritises the need for governance and accountability within financial services firms. These regulations determine that the ultimate responsibility for the internal resilience of a firm will rest with senior management and the board of directors.

Adopting a modern, holistic approach to resilience as an agile and continuous process is an important step towards a robust framework.

The pace of regulatory change in the UK, EU and global markets is fast-moving. Firms that fail to adapt to this ongoing cycle of change may find themselves uncompetitive in these evolving, innovative markets.

FinTech startups are innovative by nature and often work on introducing new concepts within emerging fields such as digital assets. Unfortunately, the regulatory frameworks within these areas usually do not evolve at the same speed.

Conduct risk and consumer duty are two important concepts that firms must understand and adhere to in relation to their specific obligations and responsibilities to their customers.

Data privacy and preserving the integrity of consumers’ personal information are core focus areas of regulatory compliance for financial services firms. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the primary global benchmark for the protection of consumer data.

Regulatory Technology, commonly known as RegTech, has evolved over the last few years and now plays a significant role in transaction reporting and compliance management for financial services firms.

The foundation of tackling financial crime is Know Your Customer (KYC) checks and the broader Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework. KYC clearly identifies all legal entities involved in financial transactions, which is critical for targeting advanced money laundering operations.

In recent years, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations have rapidly evolved into a core compliance obligation driven by several key global regulatory changes.

The year 2025 has proven to be a pivotal year for regulatory change within European financial markets. This has been driven by several key initiatives, including the continued post-Brexit divergence of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and a wider global trend towards the harmonisation of reporting standards.

Regulators have enhanced their requirements for firms to install, maintain and continuously monitor internal surveillance controls.

Comprehensive regulatory due diligence is critical and non-negotiable for any Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) transaction.

As regulators move toward a model of near real-time reporting requirements, compliance is becoming a key strategic differentiator as forward-looking firms transform their approach to these requirements.

There is an ever-increasing demand for sustainability-linked products and digital assets in modern financial services markets. This brings almost unlimited opportunities for agile firms, as innovation requires unique solutions.

Firms that heavily invest in digital transformation and overhaul legacy systems must also consider the human capital aspect at each stage of the implementation process.

Regulators now demand that firms focus on the integrity of data instead of just timeliness, meaning that the data produced should be of a much higher quality.

Evolving regulatory expectations continue to place more importance on proactive compliance, meaning firms should now consider compliance as a strategic tool instead of a burdensome obligation.

Technological advancements and increased regulatory focus on data quality are driving significant changes in how firms manage their compliance obligations.

Forward-looking firms are constantly finding new ways to advance their technological capabilities to remain in line with evolving compliance requirements.

The regulatory environment is constantly evolving, and firms may have to manage numerous reporting obligations across several jurisdictions. This means that firms must now stay ahead of the competition by taking a proactive approach to compliance and a holistic view of operational resilience.

As the speed of regulatory change increases, firms must develop the ability to identify regulatory changes in as close to real-time as possible. This will also require them to adapt their internal processes to suit these evolving requirements.