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

Brickendon Proposes a Five-Pronged Approach to GDPR

Subscribe to our newsletter

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a game changer, requiring firms to identify, manage and provide access to individuals’ personal data. Are firms up to speed on meeting the regulation’s May 2018 compliance deadline, or is there still some way to go? Ahead of a panel session on GDPR at A-Team Group’s RegTech Summit for Capital Markets on November 16 in New York, we talked to panel member Nathan Snyder, partner, Brickendon Consulting, about the opportunities of regtech, the hazards of GDPR, and the firm’s response to the regulation.

Q: What does RegTech mean to you?

A: We are seeing our clients evolving from a regulatory project approach to a regulatory operations model. This maturity comes with a recognition that many in-house regulatory systems could be replaced by lower cost and more sophisticated vendor offerings. RegTech is at an exciting transition point, where financial institutions are beginning to understand what is available and what is possible.

Q: What problems do financial institutions have that you believe you can solve?

While there are some challenges, most of Brickendon’s clients actually have opportunities. These opportunities have come about due to the large amount of data regulators have requested over the past 10 years. These large volumes of data processing for regulations are actually a treasure trove of information and insights. We are working with our clients to move from descriptive data processing to predictive information analysis. Brickendon has used information analysis to accelerate data adoption programmes for one of its clients by a factor of 12 times, while simultaneously reducing project costs by 50%.

Q: What regulations are of primary concern to you and your customers?

A: Our primary concern is the lack of concern about General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This is being seen as a retail-banking-only and compliance-only problem, when it is actually much broader. The opportunity for reputational and financial damage caused by private banking clients, corporate and investment banking clients and ex-employees is significant. The inadequacy of a compliance-only response that does not involve technology and data change will become very apparent when the first instances of non-compliance are reported. Brickendon’s GDPR working group has published a paper on the five-pronged approach required and we are working with several of our clients on implementation.

Q: How do you solve regulatory problems?

A: By bringing together compliance, data and technology organisations. Brickendon’s consultants have extensive expertise in these areas and in implementing solutions that addresses business and business-support data uses.

Q: What technology do you use?

A: There are a number of semantic technology vendors that can be used in this space. However, vendor choices need to fit into a financial institution’s wider data strategy and we use what is right depending on the project.

Q: How do you fit into a financial institution’s architecture and data flows?

A: Brickendon Consulting works with its clients to strategize, design and implement architecture and data flows. Our capabilities allow us to truly partner with our clients and create a highly adaptable data strategy with flexible implementation that allows clients to respond to market and regulatory challenges while taking advantage of innovative technologies.

Q: What other cool RegTech companies have you seen out there?

A: We’re currently in partnership discussions with several regulatory reporting, semantic technology and machine learning organisations – watch this space.

Q: Why are you taking part in A-Team’s RegTech Summit for Capital Markets event?

A: We’re regular attendees and speakers at A-Team events. We love hearing about the concepts and products in our community and participating in challenging discussions with our peers. We are also keen to showcase our extensive experience and transformational solutions for market challenges.

Q: What type of people are you hoping to meet at the Summit?

A: I am sure we will meet people who have designed innovative solutions for the opportunities and challenges we share in our industry. At a personal level, I want to meet anyone with a controversial viewpoint! Brickendon is a transformational consultancy, so we are keen to meet people who we can partner with to truly transform their business.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Upcoming Webinar: How to organise, integrate and structure data for successful AI

25 September 2025 10:00am ET | 3:00pm London | 4:00pm CET Duration: 50 Minutes Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being rolled out across financial institutions, being put to work in applications that are transforming everything from back-office data management to front-office trading platforms. The potential for AI to bring further cost-savings and operational gains are...

BLOG

A “New Day” at the SEC: Key Takeaways from Chairman Atkins’ May 2025 Town Hall

Newly appointed SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins set a clear, bold tone in his first town hall, declaring it “a new day at the SEC” and emphasizing a return to the agency’s core mission: protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and safeguarding fair, orderly, efficient markets. Atkins’ remarks provided significant insights for compliance professionals, capital markets...

EVENT

Data Management Summit London

Now in its 16th year, the Data Management Summit (DMS) in London brings together the European capital markets enterprise data management community, to explore how data strategy is evolving to drive business outcomes and speed to market in changing times.

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...