Following the Rules

Today's episode is a special one, produced in association with Smarsh, a technology firm that helps financial institutions capture, govern and monitor their communications.

This episode forms part of our Following the Rules: How To series, focused on practical guidance for firms navigating legal, regulatory and technological change.

Today we're discussing Smarsh's new 2026 AI Trends Study, conducted by FTI Consulting, which argues that communications data is moving from being a regulatory obligation to one of an organisation's most valuable strategic assets. But it also highlights a growing challenge. While firms are racing to deploy AI, governance is struggling to keep pace. Communications data remains fragmented, shadow AI is creating new blind spots, and many compliance teams are being asked to manage risks they were never designed to oversee.

So what does good AI governance actually look like? How do firms unlock the value of communications data without creating new regulatory risks? And what should compliance leaders be doing now to build the right foundations for AI?

Joining me to discuss this is Goutam Nadella, Chief Strategy Officer at Smarsh. We explore the report's findings, why AI governance starts with data governance, and why the firms that get this right may find compliance becoming a competitive advantage, rather than simply a control function.

Today’s episode is a little different to normal. It’s a recording of a panel discussion I was Invited to moderate a recent event convened by the Managed Funds Association or MFA, the global trade body for the alternative asset management industry, and organised by POLITICO.

The discussion brought together senior figures from across financial services, regulation and policymaking to explore one of the  biggest questions facing the UK today: how to balance growth, competitiveness and financial stability. We discussed whether the UK’s regulatory reforms are delivering on their ambitions, the role of regulators in supporting innovation, the future of UK capital markets, and what it will take for the UK to remain a leading global financial centre.

I hope you enjoy it.

Today’s guest argues that one of the biggest risks facing financial services isn’t market volatility or even regulatory complexity. It’s the growing politicisation of the rulebook around the world.

As geopolitical tensions rise and regulatory regimes increasingly diverge, he warns that firms are being forced to navigate a world where consistency and predictability can no longer be taken for granted. From the UK’s search for competitiveness to deregulation in the US and a different trajectory in Europe, he explains why fragmentation is becoming a strategic challenge for legal and compliance teams.

He also reflects on how the role of legal and compliance is changing. Increasingly, it is about helping businesses navigate uncertainty, exercise judgment and build cultures where challenge, escalation and accountability are embedded long before problems emerge. And as AI reshapes the way firms identify risk, he discusses how new technologies could transform compliance functions while also raising expectations of what firms should be able to see and prevent.

Chris Barlow’s 30-year career includes more than two decades at international bank Nomura, where he now guides its Europe, Middle East and Africa business through regulatory change, market disruption and evolving risk landscapes as a Managing Director, and Nomura’s General Counsel for EMEA, Joint Wholesale Chief Compliance Officer and Head of Legal and Compliance for the bank’s EMEA operations.

Today’s episode is produced in association with Willis, one of the world’s leading risk advisory, broking and solutions businesses.

It is also part of a Following the Rules series delivering practical guidance on navigating legal, regulatory, technological and cultural change.

Insurance has traditionally been viewed as a way of transferring risk. But for financial institutions facing rising regulatory scrutiny, growing cyber threats and the rapid emergence of AI, insurance is now becoming a much more strategic board level issue. Boards are increasingly expected to understand exactly what they’re buying, what it covers and how it fits into the firm’s wider resilience strategy.

So what does good insurance governance actually look like? How should firms decide what cover they need? How much is enough? And as risks become more interconnected, where are the biggest gaps beginning to emerge?

Joining us to discuss these questions are three experts in the field.

Claire Nightingale is a former bank General Counsel and Head of Global Banking Compliance who now helps financial institutions navigate and recover complex insurance claims as Global Head of FINEX Financial Institutions Claims Advocacy at Willis. Andrew Hill is a former insurance lawyer who now leads Willis’ Cyber Coverage and Innovation team alongside its AI coverage strategy. And Paul Search is a Managing Director at Willis, specialising in operational risk, insurance strategy and capital optimisation.

Together, they unpack why insurance is becoming a board-level issue in entirely new ways, and what firms need to do now to stay ahead.

Today’s episode is part of a Following the Rules series exploring how financial institutions can navigate legal, regulatory, technological and cultural change in practice.

In this episode, we look at why traditional approaches to compliance training are increasingly falling short in a regulatory environment focused on culture, conduct and behavioural risk.

Against this backdrop, firms are now facing difficult questions. Why do so many training programmes fail to change behaviour in practice? Where are institutions most exposed when culture and compliance fall out of step? And how can organisations create environments where people feel confident to speak up before problems escalate?

Joining me to explore these questions is Alison Sneddon, an employment lawyer and workplace investigations specialist who has spent her career advising financial institutions on whistleblowing, culture, employee misconduct and regulatory risk. She is also the founder of Conduct Counsel, a specialist training provider for financial institutions.

Together, we discuss why traditional compliance training is often missing the mark, how the FCA’s new non-financial misconduct rules are changing expectations, and what firms need to do now to build cultures that are genuinely respectful, psychologically safe, and regulator-ready

 

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