MiFID II goes automated as Waymark Tech launches world’s first AI regulatory tool

Waymark Tech, a leading provider of regulatory intelligence software, today announced the launch of a new AI-powered tool that automatically identifies regulatory crossovers and conflicts between incoming regulations, such as MiFID II, GDPR, and PRIIPS.

The first of its kind worldwide, the launch signals London-based regtech-startup Waymark’s aspirations to become the first-choice global provider of AI-powered regulatory intelligence software to small- and medium-sized financial services and legal firms.

Accessible immediately from within Waymark’s Wayfinder product, the real-time tool identifies which regulations apply to a company and then finds common areas and conflicts across other regulatory packages. This allows compliance officers to streamline implementation procedures, reduce risk and lower costs dramatically.

For example, the tool can flag up that both MiFID II and PRIIPs will require fund managers to give retail investors and professional investment advisors suitable information to compare products and understand risks.

The tool can also identify areas of potential conflict between incoming legislation packages, acting as an early warning system to flag implementation challenges. MiFID II, for example, requires financial services firms to provide regulators with easy and immediate access to their client database while GDPR incentivises companies to encrypt this data.

The new tool currently covers 43 EU regulations, including MiFID II, PRIIPS, UCITS V, BASEL III, EMIR, GDPR, AIFMD, and SFTR.

Powered by artificial intelligence developed by Waymark, the Wayfinder platform provides financial services and law firms with a list of specific articles from the incoming regulations that are directly relevant to them, depending on their activity, geography, and size. The software also provides companies with practical step-by-step guidelines to ensure compliance with these regulations.

Mark Holmes, CEO of Waymark Technology, said: “This new tool provides compliance officers with a faster and better way to build up a deep understanding of different regulations, and how they all connect together. It provides them with the insight they need to approach compliance issues confidently and strategically.

“We are going through a period of regulatory turbulence in the financial services industry. Compliance managers are overworked, stretched, and exhausted. One of their biggest problems right now is finding exactly which parts of these new regulations apply to their firm – and which just don’t. And crucially, if they take action to do one thing, are they falling foul elsewhere.

“This tool, as with all our products, provides compliance officers with an answer to that problem. It breaks down threatening amounts of regulation in real time into consumable chunks that are directly applicable to their company; tells them what steps to take to comply, and flags any crossovers and conflicts.”