Bank and FCA respond to phase two industry recommendations and share future strategy

Over the past three years, the Bank, FCA and industry have been working together, as part of the joint transformation programme, towards achieving the vision set out in the 2021 Transformation Plan that 'Regulators get the data they need to fulfil their mission, at the lowest cost to industry'. The programme has focused on three key reforms - defining and adopting common data standards; modernising reporting instructions; and integrating reporting - through tightly defined use cases. Industry made several specific recommendations through a use case lens, and regulators have designed and tested solutions in response. 

The latest industry recommendations for the phase two use cases have been published today. 

Building on the learnings from the JTP, the Bank and FCA are now planning several projects over the next 18 months to improve data collection. They contribute to five outcomes:

1. data collections meet and are proportionate to regulators' needs;   
2. effective and efficient internal processes for creating data collections;   
3. efficient processes and support for meeting regulatory obligations;    
4. clear and consistent data definitions; and   
5. modern systems to underpin data collections.
 

Workstreams to deliver the five outcomes

The Bank and FCA are undertaking a range of specific workstreams to achieve these outcomes. The workstreams have been motivated by the recommendations from industry on how to improve data reporting identified through the joint transformation programme. 

The United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union means that there is an opportunity to reconsider what data is collected through regular regulatory returns, the approach to collecting it, and to ensure the necessary capabilities are in place.

The new capabilities and insights will, in general, be applied to new data collections and during the introduction of new collection processes, or future reviews of existing collections. This will allow us to deploy the new capabilities built through TDC iteratively over time. 

The regulators are taking several steps to have a more streamlined and efficient set of collections and processes. Ongoing initiatives, namely reviews of FCA data collections and the Bank's Banking Data Review (BDR), will ensure data collections meet and are proportionate to regulators' needs, including cuts to templates that are not needed and targeted new collections to address clear gaps in regular reporting.  

In addition, the Bank and FCA will be making improvements to deliver effective and efficient internal processes for creating new data collections, as well as launching several projects to deliver efficient processes and support for meeting regulatory obligations, developing options for delivering streamlined interfaces for firms. This will initially include investigating options for delivering a Single Firm Portal to interact with different systems such as RegData and CONNECT, and a Firm Communications Portal for reporting queries.

The Bank and FCA will also be undertaking work with industry to deliver clear and consistent data definitions. This project will be delivered in close collaboration with the Industry Data Standards Committee (IDSC), a new committee that will be responsible for issuing industry recommendations on data standards, which regulators will consider for implementation.

Finally, the Bank and FCA will build modern systems that support data collections, including work to establish a shared technology roadmap. 

The Bank and FCA will continue to work together, and in consultation with industry, as they deliver these projects and to identify future priorities and areas of work.

Read the Bank and FCA's full joint response and future strategy. 

Changes to Industry Engagement

We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate thanks from both the Bank and FCA for industry's engagement to date with TDC. We would also like to give special recognition to Lee Fulmer, Andrew Douglas, and Andrew Turvey, who have chaired the Board and committees over the last three years, for their contribution and commitment to the programme.

Since the inception of TDC in July 2021, the Bank, FCA and industry have been working together to identify ways to improve the data collections process. The industry committees have been central to this, making specific recommendations for future work. The programme's future focus is now shifting to delivering substantial improvements in reporting, and governance structures through which industry engage with the programme have been redesigned to reflect this. 

The new governance structure will come into effect from 2 April 2024. This new structure comprises of two groups - a TDC Advisory Board and an Industry Data Standards Committee (IDSC). It has been designed to allow for focused discussions that will inform the programme and help to shape future delivery. Below is more information about each of the groups and their Terms of Reference (ToR). 

• TDC Advisory Board - the Bank and FCA will use the Board to update industry on the strategic direction of TDC and receive feedback. The Board will provide industry views on new projects and inform the Bank and FCA on priorities for improving regulatory reporting. The Board will work with the Bank and FCA to establish working groups for specific subjects that the TDC programme is working on.   
  
  View TDC Advisory Board ToR 
   
• Industry Data Standards Committee - the committee will consider what data standards should be used when reporting to UK financial regulators and make recommendations on behalf of industry.    
  
  View Industry Data Standards Committee ToR 

Nominations

The Bank and FCA invite industry to nominate individuals to serve as members of the TDC Advisory Board and the IDSC for the next phase of the programme. Please see each group’s Terms of Reference in section above for eligibility criteria.

Nominating organisations are asked to submit their nominations by Friday 26 April 2024. Nominations should be made by completing and submitting a nomination form. Nominees must confirm their organisation’s approval prior to submission.

As part of their submission, nominees will be asked to provide details of relevant knowledge and experience.

The Bank and FCA will review all nominations against the criteria outlined in the relevant group’s Terms of Reference and decide whether to accept the nominee as a member. We will aim to respond to nominees within two weeks of receipt of their nomination.

If you have any questions about the nominations process or the joint transformation programme, please email us at [email protected] or use the Contact Us form. 

Updates to the website

The newly designed governance structure has been updated in the Industry Groups section of the website. Further changes will be made across the website to reflect the future strategy of the programme.