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

Panellists Highlight the “Shotgun Wedding” of Data Management and Risk Management at DMRAV in NYC

Subscribe to our newsletter

The data management and risk functions of financial institutions have become subject to a “shotgun wedding of sorts”, as firms aim to tackle their underlying data quality issues in the post-crisis environment, according to panellists at last week’s A-Team Group Data Management for Risk, Analytics and Valuations (DMRAV) conference in NYC (see details of the London sister event coming up on 17 October here). Firms have therefore moved from the stages of denial of the problem to acceptance and change (albeit gradually).

Bottega recommended that firms looking to set off down the path towards tackling their underlying data management challenges (be it to support the risk function or otherwise) should first take stock of where they are currently. “A simple inventory of where you are at the moment with regards to data management and where the gaps are is the most important first step,” he said. “This must be done before any data quality metrics or data governance structures are set in place.”

The challenge, as always, is also to ensure that momentum is maintained throughout the data management change programme, once it has been kicked off, agreed panellists. Thomson Reuters’ head of strategy and business development for Enterprise content Tim Lind added that the function would have to continue to fight its corner and ensure that it doesn’t miss the window of opportunity granted by the financial crisis and regulatory change. “Never waste a good crisis,” he joked.

Of course, other business changes such as M&A activity will continue to pose a challenge to data management teams in the interim. The data quality panellists noted that going back to fundamental data definitions during an M&A process and ensuring that all parties are talking the same language is the most efficient and practical way of tackling this challenge. Sanjay Vatsa, managing director and head of transformations for Citi Securities & Fund Services, for example, indicated that he has been through three M&A events in his current role and that moving from multiple languages to a single language for data was a key coping strategy for his team.

“In a merged company you need to define common ground,” added HSBC’s Serenita. “Clear business definitions of data items are needed at the outset and this back to basics approach is a very important first step to take before you can put any kind of execution plan together.”

Vatsa compared data management to a religious cult with strict discipline and a set dictatorship to follow. “Data items X, Y and Z should not be subject to discussion and should have the right governance structure around them to ensure they are subject to strict validation rules,” he elaborated.

So, data has been married off to risk and compliance, gone through a ‘Who Moved My Cheese’ change programme and taken on cult like status. Some progress indeed for what many have called an unglamorous back office function. From wallflower to wedded bliss via a crisis.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

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

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 to meet evolving regulatory expectations around data authenticity, retention, and accessibility. Delaying action increases...

BLOG

Businesses Struggling with ESG Data that will Aid SFDR Compliance

Most businesses are struggling to prepare their data to meet a new European regulation that is designed in part to deliver huge troves of corporate ESG information into financial institutions’ systems. More than four-fifths of companies questioned in a study by data mastering company Semarchy said they lack confidence in their data management capabilities to...

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...