Is the potential delay to the implementation of MiFID II going to provide any relief to companies struggling to get their systems in order – or is it actually just delaying the inevitable?
Compliance Officers may breathe a sigh of relief at the likelihood of a delay to MiFID II compliance but our experience is that most banks won’t be able to comply even with an extra year, should they get it. In fact complying with MiFID II isn’t necessarily the entire point, as existing rules are already catching out banks at an alarming rate with massive fines ever more common.
Mobile Technology; The Law – and – Human Behaviour
Where BYOD, SMS, and Mobile Calls are used in business we find numerous risks over-arched by a struggle to avoid fines even where nothing illegal has occurred.
In terms of MiFID II preparation; most major financial services organisation we meet presents as ill-informed on technical limitations of capturing in & outbound mobile communications in compliance with global regulatory requirements – while struggling to also grasp how to organise mobile call-data, to satisfy discovery demands of Regulators in under 72 hours. With BYOD now prevalent and growing, how could they ?
Compliance Officers’ general lack of deep IT knowledge is the Achilles heel of many banks & financial services companies effort to align with the new requirements, and in our experience Consultants hired by banks to bridge the gap often also struggle, despite having IT backgrounds.
How likely therefore is compliance? To RFP, shortlist, pilot, procure, plan and deploy a globally compliant, cost effective mobile-policy / SaaS strategy, that satisfies MiFID II, across a blended mobile estate of CYOD, BYOD or Company Mobiles in under two years is a big ask.
To recognise potential solutions requires an understanding of the sometimes complex elements of mobile infrastructure, OTT Applications, Mobile Call Recording and Secure Data Storage & Analytics technologies.
To qualify to offer a solution vendors must provide enterprise grade global telephony network access that sits OTT on all existing mobile contracts, handsets and MAM, MDM deployments such as the market leading Good Dynamics. The rest is down to robust and widely applicable policy rules that narrow down the technologies and communication mediums employees can use.