Financial Markets Regulatory Outlook 2018

The European financial services industry faces considerable strategic challenges in 2018. There is a large volume of implementation work being carried out, alongside uncertainties around the future shape of regulation. Find out in our annual assessment Financial Markets Regulatory Outlook 2018 how major regulatory trends will shape the financial services industry in the year ahead and how you can effectively navigate these changes.

Key findings of this year’s Regulatory Outlook:

• The industry faces many resource constraints and numerous competing priorities. With business models already under pressure, it can be difficult for regulated firms to do the bare minimum, let alone invest to become best in class.
• There is considerable uncertainty across the board: the outcome of Brexit remains unknown, there are important regulatory technical standards outstanding in several areas, and the impact of new rules on markets will take time to play out.
• The ecosystem of financial services is changing. MiFID II will intentionally overhaul the trading landscape, but old and new players will forge different types of connection, particularly through technological innovation and third party service providers. The shape of markets is changing, and with this the nature of risk in the system.
• Technology provides opportunities to do old things better and to introduce new products, services and ways of working. But it also creates risks for firms whose business models will be challenged, and risks for consumers where its use is not well understood or controlled.
• Customers’ relationships with firms are changing. Firms are looking to use customer data in novel ways, but customers are also set to gain stronger rights over how their data is used, while new technologies are enabling new types of interactions between customers, firms and third parties.