The Boundary Between SMF24 and Operational SMFs: Hiring the Right COO at a Regulated Firm
The SMF24 Chief Operations function is one of the more misunderstood Senior Management Functions. It sits at the intersection of operations, technology and outsourcing, and its boundaries with other SMFs — and with roles that are not SMFs at all — are frequently blurred. For …
Insurer and Insurance Intermediary Senior Hiring: The Lloyd’s Market and FCA Dimension
Senior hiring in insurance sits at a more complex regulatory intersection than almost any other financial services sector. An insurer may be dual-regulated by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority; an intermediary or broker is FCA-regulated; and a managing agent operating in the Lloyd’s …
Fintech Senior Hiring Under FCA Authorisation: Scaling Governance Without Slowing Growth
For a fintech, becoming FCA-authorised changes the senior hiring brief overnight. A business that scaled on speed, product instinct and a flat structure suddenly has to satisfy a regulator that expects named, approved individuals to hold specific responsibilities — and to be demonstrably fit and …
CRO Recruitment at Challenger Banks and Dual-Regulated Firms
The Chief Risk Officer role at a challenger bank or dual-regulated financial institution carries a set of demands that do not exist at FCA solo-regulated firms or at non-regulated businesses. Dual regulation by the FCA and PRA means the CRO must maintain constructive supervisory relationships …
The Board-Level CRO: Governance Positioning and SMF4 Approval Considerations
The Chief Risk Officer at a regulated financial services firm occupies a governance position that is structurally different from every other member of the executive leadership team. Every other C-suite executive — the CEO, CFO, COO, CMO — is accountable for delivering commercial outcomes within …
SMF13 Chair of Nominations Committee
The Chair of the Nominations Committee at an FCA-regulated firm holds a designation that is structurally different from the other committee chair functions under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR). The SMF13 holder is not primarily accountable for a functional risk or control domain …
Chair of Remuneration Committee at FCA Firms
The Chair of the Remuneration Committee at an FCA-regulated firm holds one of the most technically demanding committee chair roles in financial services governance. Where the firm is dual-regulated or an FCA enhanced firm, the role is a designated Senior Management Function, SMF12, and it …
Consumer Duty: The Chair’s Role in Oversight
Consumer Duty has changed what a Chair needs to bring to a retail-facing regulated firm board. Not incrementally — the change is structural. Under the previous conduct framework, the Chair’s accountability for conduct outcomes was largely mediated through the board’s oversight of management. Under Consumer …
Chair Succession in PE-Backed Regulated Firms
Chair Succession in PE-Backed Financial Services Businesses Chair succession at a PE-backed financial services firm involves a set of competing pressures that do not arise in the same combination anywhere else in the regulated financial services governance landscape. The private equity investor has defined expectations …
Wealth Management Executive Director Hiring
Executive Director appointments at wealth management firms sit at the intersection of several distinctive governance pressures. Wealth management is a sector where client relationships are deeply personal, regulatory obligations have intensified under Consumer Duty, and the profile of the individuals who lead business divisions has …
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