Realising the full value of compliance

Protecting the brand 2009

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Protecting the brand 2009

Independent compliance functions will soon be a common requirement across all financial sectors in the European Union (EU). The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), which went live in November 2007, imposed on investment firms requirements similar to those then existing for banks. Solvency II will introduce equivalent requirements for insurance and reinsurance companies. Against this backdrop, we felt it was time to revisit our 2005 survey and assess the progress compliance functions have made in meeting the challenges facing them.

This survey, which includes responses from 76 financial institutions based in 16 European countries, provides a snapshot of the progress firms have made in establishing their compliance functions. It examines ongoing and new challenges and provides a benchmark against which to assess the potential future role of the compliance function in today’s changed environment.

It is structured in three sections: an executive summary providing a brief overview of the main findings of the survey; the main report, which examines our conclusions in more depth; and finally, an appendix that reviews the responses in detail, looking at examples of best practice and areas of particular concern.