Wolters Financial Services' Latest Indicator Shows Steady
Increases throughout 2013
MINNEAPOLIS - What's
the number one thing regulators could be doing to make life easier for U.S.
banks and credit unions-aside from issuing fewer rules? Making them simpler to
understand and offering more clarity around how to comply with them. That's
according to nearly a third of the approximately 400 banks and credit unions
participating in Wolters Kluwer
Financial Services' November Regulatory
& Risk Management Indicator.
The company's latest Indicator
reports that banks and credit unions want more guidance from regulators and have
grown more concerned as 2013 has progressed with their ability to manage
compliance obligations and risk. Nearly 80% of respondents in the most recent
Indicator showed significant concerns with their ability to stay abreast of
regulatory change, comply with it and then prove adherence to regulators. That's
compared to just over 60% of respondents showing similar concern levels when the
company surveyed 400 plus financial institutions in January.
In addition,
the percentage of respondents showing a significant concern with their ability
to manage risk across their organization rose from over 50% in January to more
than 60% in the current Indicator.
The main Indicator score dropped to 97
in November due in large part to a slower period of regulatory activity over the
summer months and during the government shutdown. To calculate the Indicator,
Wolters Kluwer Financial Services uses 10 main factors, three of which are based
on regulatory data the company compiles and seven of which revolve around direct
input from banks and credit unions on their top compliance and risk management
concerns.
The combined RESPA/TILA disclosure rule continued to top
institutions concerns with the Dodd-Frank Act and Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau at nearly 70%. And Qualified Mortgage (66%) and Qualified Residential
Mortgage (64%) requirements were not far behind. Regulatory risk remained the
top risk management concern (64%) along with asset and liability management
(40%) in second place.
"Intense risk-based supervision, together with the
rapid pace of regulatory change and heavy sanctions for noncompliance are
creating mounting challenges for U.S. financial institutions as we head into
2014," said Timothy Burniston, vice president and senior director of Wolters
Kluwer Financial Services' Risk & Compliance Consulting Practice. "The
latest Indicator shows just how increasingly difficult, resource intensive, and
time consuming it is for financial institutions to get in front of regulatory
change and understand their true risk picture."
About Wolters Kluwer
Financial Services
Wolters Kluwer
Financial Services provides more than 15,000 customers worldwide with risk
management, compliance, finance and audit solutions that help them successfully
navigate regulatory complexity, optimize risk and financial performance, and
manage data to support critical decisions. With more than 30 offices in 20
countries, our prominent brands include: Summix®, FRSGlobal, FinArch,
ARC Logics®, TeamMate®, Bankers Systems, VMP® Mortgage Solutions,
AppOne®, GainsKeeper®, Capital Changes, NILS®, AuthenticWeb™ and Uniform Forms™.
Wolters Kluwer Financial Services is part of Wolters
Kluwer, a leading global information services and solutions provider with
annual revenues of (2012) €3.6 billion ($4.6 billion) and approximately 19,000
employees worldwide.