Following the Rules

Hosted by Lucy McNulty

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100

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Jun 2026

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About the show

An insider’s guide to the laws dictating life within UK and EU financial services, the people influencing their development and policing finance workers’ compliance

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60 recent

June 15, 2026Episode 10836 min

Nomura's Chris Barlow on taking politics out of regulation, preparing compliance for the future and building the right culture

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.

June 1, 2026Episode 10737 min

How to ensure your insurance reflects your risk profile with Willis’ Claire Nightingale, Paul Search and Andrew Hill

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.

May 18, 2026Episode 10634 min

How to use training to reduce toxic workplace behaviour

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 ---- For more on Conduct Counsel: www.conductcounsel.com

May 4, 2026Episode 10552 min

How to succeed as a Chief Compliance Officer in today’s markets with compliance and risk strategists Natalie McManus-Barnett and Jennifer Geary

Today’s episode is part of a Following the Rules series delivering practical guidance on navigating legal, regulatory, technological and cultural change. In this episode, we turn to a role that has quietly but fundamentally shifted over the past decade: the Chief Compliance Officer. Once seen primarily as a control function, compliance is now expected to sit at the centre of strategy, shaping decisions, influencing culture, and helping firms navigate an increasingly complex and fast-moving regulatory environment. But while expectations have evolved, practice has not always kept pace. Many firms are still grappling with how to move beyond checklist compliance, how to prioritise effectively in the face of competing demands, and how to embed compliance thinking into everyday decision-making, not just frameworks and documentation. So what does good look like in practice? Why do compliance programmes still struggle to deliver consistent, decision-useful insight? And how can firms reposition compliance as an enabler of sustainable business, rather than a cost centre? Joining me to explore these questions are Natalie McManus-Barnett, a former regulator at the Financial Services Authority and senior compliance leader at Citigroup, now founder of thought leadership institute Innovate Compliance, and Jennifer Geary, a former Chief Operating Officer and Chief Risk Officer with senior roles at Barclays and Santander, now a non-executive director and author of five best-selling books in the C-Suite series. Together, they have brought their experience into a new book, How to Be a Chief Compliance Officer, which sets out a practical framework for modern compliance leadership. If you are thinking about how to make your compliance function more effective, more credible, and more aligned with business strategy, this episode is for you. ---- More on The C Suite Framework: https://csuiteframework.co.uk/ More on Innovate Compliance: https://www.innovatecompliance.co.uk/

April 20, 2026Episode 10437 min

Former Goldman’s compliance exec Mark Taylor on fixing accountability in banking, and why banks still get the basics wrong

Today’s guest argues that after decades of regulatory expansion, compliance is still failing at the basics. From incomplete client records to fragmented legacy systems, he warns that poor data remains one of the industry’s most persistent, and underestimated, risks. He challenges the industry’s growing reliance on process, questioning whether accountability regimes and surveillance have come at the expense of judgment, culture and open challenge - the very things that prevent problems before they crystallise. And he explores what happens as technology accelerates ahead of understanding, from AI-driven efficiency to the rise of crypto, warning that regulators and firms alike risk falling behind the businesses they are meant to oversee. Mark Taylor began his career at the Securities and Futures Authority, a predecessor to the Financial Conduct Authority, and spent two decades at Goldman Sachs in various senior compliance positions including its EMEA Head of Financial Crime Compliance. Since 2023, he has run consultancy Ibex Compliance as its partner.

March 25, 2026Episode 10326 min

Special episode: How to modernise voice surveillance for today’s markets with Smarsh's Eric Wiggins and Shaun Hurst

Today’s episode is a special one, produced in association with Smarsh, an AI technology firm providing global financial institutions with tools to capture, store and monitor their communications across 100+ channels. This episode is part of our ‘Following the Rules: How To’ series, focused on practical guidance for firms navigating legal, regulatory and technological change. In this episode, we turn to trader voice - a mission-critical part of market infrastructure now under growing pressure as trading evolves, with hybrid working, mobile devices, multiple platforms, shorter settlement cycles, and increasing regulatory scrutiny around supervision, auditability and operational resilience. That raises some important questions. Are the voice systems many firms still rely on fit for today’s environment? What does good look like under current regulatory expectations? And how should firms be thinking about surveillance, data and defensibility as scrutiny continues to increase? Joining me to discuss this are Eric Wiggins, product marketing director at Smarsh, and Shaun Hurst, principal regulatory advisor at Smarsh. They share their perspectives on how the risk profile of trader voice has changed, where legacy infrastructure falls short, and what firms should be doing now to build voice frameworks that are genuinely regulator-ready.

March 10, 2026Episode 10229 min

Former insider trader Tom Hardin on the blind spots in finance’s fight against market abuse

Today’s guest is better known to the FBI as ‘Tipper X’, a former hedge fund analyst who became a key cooperating witness in the largest insider trading enforcement sweep in a generation, helping authorities bring cases against more than 80 individuals. In this episode, he explains why market abuse is rarely a single rogue act. Instead, it’s an incremental process, driven by performance pressure, network drift and the quiet normalisation of ethical grey zones. Drawing on his experience inside a hedge fund, inside a federal investigation and now advising firms and regulators, he argues the industry remains too focused on detecting bad trades rather than preventing bad decisions. He challenges compliance leaders to look beyond surveillance dashboards, to measure culture as seriously as they measure transactions, and to rethink escalation pathways before misconduct crystallises. And he urges regulators to invest as heavily in prevention and human insight as they do in enforcement technology. Tom Hardin now works with boards and compliance teams globally, helping them spot the warning signs before misconduct becomes a headline. He is also the author of Wired on Wall Street, which tells the story behind the codename ‘Tipper X’. ---- Want to read Tom’s book? Find out more here: https://www.tipperx.com/book

February 24, 2026Episode 10144 min

FCA deputy CEO Sarah Pritchard on the regulator's to-do list as it navigate new rules, new risks and "uncertain" times

Today’s guest sets out the Financial Conduct Authority’s to-do list for 2026 and beyond. She details the watchdog’s plans to future-proof UK financial regulation, and outlines what City firms should expect as landmark reforms, including new rules on non-financial misconduct, begin to bed down. She discusses the FCA’s efforts to build a more open relationship with financial institutions and explains why a more collaborative partnership between regulator and regulated is crucial in the face of unprecedented and rapidly evolving geopolitical, technological and market risks currently shaping financial services. She also outlines how the watchdog is balancing growth and competitiveness with its core duty to protect consumers and markets and explains why it will continue to push for clearer political accountability to support that task. Sarah Pritchard’s near three-decade career includes senior roles at banking giant HSBC and the UK’s National Crime Agency. She joined the FCA in 2021 to lead its Supervision, Policy and Competition division and was appointed the regulator’s first Deputy Chief Executive in 2025.

February 10, 2026Episode 10045 min

How to handle non-financial misconduct without damaging organisational culture, with former Standard Chartered surveillance chief Emily Wright and conduct risk consultant Emma Parry

Today’s episode is part of a Following the Rules series delivering practical guidance on navigating legal, regulatory, technological and cultural change. In this episode, we turn to one of the most challenging and fast-evolving areas of regulatory focus: non-financial misconduct. With the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority set to introduce new rules this year that explicitly bring serious non-financial misconduct within scope of the conduct rules, expectations on firms to identify NFM, address it early, and evidence fair and consistent outcomes are rising fast. And this isn’t just a UK story: regulators globally are paying much closer attention to culture, behaviour and individual conduct. So what does good look like when regulatory guidance is deliberately principles-based? Why are firms still struggling to translate expectations into defensible decisions? And how can they respond to lower-level misconduct in a way that genuinely supports culture, rather than quietly undermining it? Joining me to explore these questions are: - Emily Wright, a compliance and conduct consultant with over 20 years’ experience, including senior roles at Standard Chartered, JP Morgan and ICAP, and,- Emma Parry, the Founder and CEO of NovaFin Consulting and former Global Head of Product Governance and Conduct in HSBC’s Global Banking and Markets division. Together, we unpack what the FCA’s rule changes mean in practice, where firms are getting stuck, and why remediation, not just punishment, is becoming a critical part of the conduct conversation. We also discuss the launch of the Conduct Compass, a new framework designed to help firms address non-financial misconduct earlier, more consistently, and in a way that drives real behavioural change. If you’re grappling with how to make conduct frameworks work on the ground, and how to get ahead of regulatory expectations on culture, this episode is for you. ---- Download the Conduct Compass white paper here: https://go.ewrightconsulting.com/free-conduct-compass-wp-lm

January 27, 2026Episode 9931 min

Special episode: How to modernise trader voice technology to better meet today's regulatory demands with Symphony's Ben Chrnelich and Antoine Stephen

Today’s episode is a special one produced in association with Symphony, a secure and compliant communications and markets technology provider, offering messaging, voice, directory and analytics for financial markets and trading teams. It also forms part of a new Following the Rules series providing practical, actionable guidance to help listeners and the financial services firms they work for navigate legal, regulatory, technological, and cultural change. In this episode, we turn to a part of market infrastructure that is mission-critical but often overlooked: trader voice. As firms grapple with hybrid working, rising regulatory expectations, and growing scrutiny around operational resilience and third-party risk, the case for modernising legacy voice technology is becoming harder to ignore.  So why has trader voice remained so static for so long? What has changed to make transformation both possible and necessary? And how should firms be thinking about compliance, surveillance, and governance as they move away from traditional on-premise turret systems? Joining me to explore these questions are: Ben Chrnelich, CEO and president at Symphony, and  Antoine Stephen, head of product management for Symphony's Cloud9. Together, they share their perspectives on the regulatory pressures shaping investment in trader voice, the practical realities of moving to cloud-based and software-driven solutions, and how data, analytics and AI are set to reshape voice communications on the trading floor in the years ahead.