About a-team Marketing Services
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry

A-Team Insight Blogs

A-Team RegTech Summit New York Emphasises the Importance of Innovation as a Foundation for Firm Data Practices

Subscribe to our newsletter

A-Team Group’s second annual RegTech Summit arrived in a snowy New York City on November 15, 2018 to cram a crowded day with expert speakers, controversial topics, deep-diving discussions and problem-solving solutions. An impressive attendee line-up of over 200 delegates comprising industry leaders, financial institutions and senior decision-makers added to the atmosphere, while our pioneering sponsors showcased the very latest in RegTech solutions.

Sophia Bantanidis, Head of Regulatory & Market Strategy EMEA and Citi Accelerator Mentor at Citi, kicked off proceedings with a keynote address outlining the global state of RegTech, exploring the relationship between RegTech and the regulatory landscape, and delving into the newest trends, most innovative investments, biggest hurdles and notable opportunities for the sector. Bantanidis noted the development of regulatory sandboxes, which allow firms to test new solutions, and hinted that the next step could be a global sandbox. Despite regtech firms’ attempts to develop regulatory solutions in events like Techsprint, the solution applied to one institution may not apply to all financial institutions’ needs. However, the largest barrier to regtech adoption remains the lack of data standardisation.

Steve McDonald, Head of Market Developments, Risk and Compliance Solutions at Refinitiv, later took the podium to discuss the evolution from government risk compliance. McDonald pointed out that under this system there is currently a loss of 30% functionality in order to share data; and called for better access to more data sources, potentially crossing traditional data ecosystems.

Peter Moss, CEO of the SmartStream Reference Data Utility (RDU), presented the Summit’s final keynote, with a controversial address exploring the limitations of RegTech and the evolution of regulatory reporting, and stressing the crucial importance of accurate data as the only foundation on which it is possible to effectively meet compliance obligations.

Lively panel discussions covered a wide range of topics: from enabling regtech and overcoming barriers, to best practices for regulatory reporting efficiency, to the potential and promise of AI and machine learning, to the best ways of fighting financial crime, to managing risk through a regulatory change management framework. A specialist panel focusing on the consolidated audit trail (CAT) heralded an announcement from CAT NMS the very same day on the initiation of reporting by exchanges and FINRA or order and transaction data.

Interspersed between panels were showcases of innovative new RegTech services from ground-reaking new startups such as Fortia Financial Solutions, ExactPro, AutreTech and ETF Logic, and the day finished with a networking drinks reception hosted by A-Team Group.

Andrew Delaney, the Summit chair and chief content officer at A-Team Group, said: “Our second RegTech Summit in New York was an exciting combination of innovation and enthusiasm, reflecting the rapidly evolving marketplace for global regulation and the enormous opportunities (and equally significant challenges) involved in keeping up to date with requirements. The impressive turnout and dynamic dialogue were a testament to the energy and verve that is driving this industry forward, and the day showcased a genuine inflexion point of turning blue sky thinking into real solutions to real business issues.”

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Upcoming Webinar: Are Your Legacy Voice Recordings a Compliance Time Bomb?

2 July 2025 10:00am ET | 3:00pm London | 4:00pm CET Duration: 50 Minutes Recent enforcement actions underscore the importance of maintaining accurate, secure and up-to-date voice and electronic communication. For some organisations, legacy voice recording systems are not at or beyond end-of-life, posing significant compliance, operational and financial risks. These outdated systems often fail...

BLOG

Making the Most of Mainframe Structured Data: Webinar Preview

Mainframes still provide the data and computational backbone of many financial institutions but some organisations are encountering challenges as they try to integrate them with newer architectures. Many are incompatible with cloud and server-based architectures as well as APIs. Work-arounds can be achieved but they require middleware that can be costly and time consuming to...

EVENT

ESG Data & Tech Briefing London

The ESG Data & Tech Briefing will explore challenges around assembling and evaluating ESG data for reporting and the impact of regulatory measures and industry collaboration on transparency and standardisation efforts. Expert speakers will address how the evolving market infrastructure is developing and the role of new technologies and alternative data in improving insight and filling data gaps.

GUIDE

AI in Capital Markets: Practical Insight for a Transforming Industry – Free Handbook

AI is no longer on the horizon – it’s embedded in the infrastructure of modern capital markets. But separating real impact from inflated promises requires a grounded, practical understanding. The AI in Capital Markets Handbook 2025 provides exactly that. Designed for data-driven professionals across the trade life-cycle, compliance, infrastructure, and strategy, this handbook goes beyond...