FX compliance and what is currently on the minds of brokers. FinanceFeeds investigates

During recent months, the need for experienced compliance officers has become paramount within retail FX firms, with skilled professionals commanding up to £1200 per day in London.

The demand for compliance professionals has increased exponentially this year as the regulatory authorities in regions which are home to the most populous FX industry sectors have stepped up and increased their technological prowess in line with the highly sophisticated electronic trading industry’s continual evolution.

Indeed, regulation and compliance in the FX industry today is as much about FinTech as it is about ensuring that the regulatory parameters are adhered to, an expensive business.

FinanceFeeds spoke to Advocate Tal Ron, Chairman of Tal Ron Drihem & Co at this years’s iFXEXPO in Limassol, Cyprus in order to take a look at the importance of compliance professionals in today’s world.

“Compliance has become a big word. Everywhere we as lawyers turn, as regards to regulators, banks, PSPs, operators, technology providers, we witness the increasing importance of a good compliance team” explained Tal Ron.

“Many of our clients come to us exactly for these reasons, those being that they want to operate their business, but they are helpless without the assistance of proper compliance professionals” he said.

“When our legal compliance department takes a look at their documents and materials, we know exactly what needs fixing and in what way, but this knowledge was earned through a lot of experience from many different aspects” – Advocate Tal Ron, Chairman, Tal Ron Drihem & Co.

Speaking to Ron Finberg at boutique fintech company Cappitech, which, among many aspects relating to our industry, has a division that concentrates on EMIR reporting automation and regulatory technology, it was very interesting indeed to gain a full perspective of what brokers and ancillary service providers currently require from entities that provide compliance and regulatory services.

“In my space, EMIR regulation reporting, there was more awareness for the need to comply with it than I expected. Therefore, the questions fielded were less of what EMIR is and more of how can I report more cost effectively. Secondary to costs was about the automation process our solution provides for brokers. While everyone wants to lower to their EMIR related expenses, technology questions were limited to brokers currently unsatisfied with the process of their current in-house or 3rd party providers to handle EMIR” explained Mr. Finberg.

“Beyond my firm’s niche, there were quite a few inquiries whether we also offer KYC and AML solutions. The benefit here is a quicker customer onboarding through the use of compliance automation” Ron Finberg, Cappitech.

“Probably the most interesting feedback I heard is that not only are AML/KYC technology solutions increasing efficiency, but also reducing customer fraud. As such, by leveraging customer data from numerous brokers, 3rd party KYC vendors can were out more card scammers which reduces chargebacks” concluded Mr. Finberg.

Whilst at the iFXEXPO in Cyprus last week, Alexandros Constantinou, MCSI, Head of Compliance & Regulatory Research at MAP S Platis explained to FinanceFeeds what is required by companies when looking for the right professionals with increasingly evolving skills in compliance. “Particularly FX and Binary brokers, which are under heightened scrutiny, are facing greater regulatory demands.”

“Industry-specific rules such as call monitoring, KYC, advertising limitations, trading platform specifications, website content, leverage rules and more, create a need for FX and Binary brokers to establish dedicated compliance roles to protect the organisation from reputational damage and costly penalties” said Mr. Constantinou.

“There is a war for talent in the compliance space and the outlook seems very bright for anyone interested to embark on a career in regulatory compliance. It is indeed difficult for many financial services firms to find good and experienced compliance officers, owing to the increased demand combined with scarcity of such skills. Adding to the lack of talent is the fact that being a relatively young field of expertise, it is not offered as part of the syllabuses of many academic institutions or professional qualifications” – Alexandros Constantinou MCSI, Head of Compliance and Regulatory Research at MAP S Platis

Patience is a virtue

Tal Ron then explained “There are several key abilities and skills required in order to preform good compliance. The first one is thoroughness and patience.”

“Compliance work can be exhausting as it requires constantly going over numerous documents, paying attention to the smallest details and making sure everything is in order takes a lot of patience and concentration” said Tal Ron.

“Another important trait is being in the loop of what’s going on in the industry. Banks and regulators are constantly changing their compliance requirements, and if your compliance staff isn’t tapped into the hot sources, important things will be missed. It is also important to be assertive with clients, who are sometimes not eager to cooperate with compliance requirements and requests” explained Mr. Ron.

In conclusion, Tal Ron said “Luckily for us, our compliance personnel have the important ability to be assertive and service oriented at the same time.”