Risk and Regulation: Talent Strategies in Financial Services

While recent banking news is nothing like the financial crisis of 2008, what has happened with Credit Suisse, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank, has once again highlighted the importance of experienced regulatory talent within companies.

But what exactly could this mean for the regulatory and legal professionals working in the financial services industry?

Ian Yeung, Head of Larson Maddox Hong Kong - APAC, has three key takeaways for leaders looking to attract, retain and better manage their talent in today's landscape:

​1. Succession planning

Bloomberg highlighted that SVB had no Chief Risk Officer between the months of April and December 2022. People everywhere hand in resignations all the time, but if one crucial learning is to come from the eight-month-gap left by Laura Izurieta, it is the importance of succession planning.

Securing a replacement is the obvious reaction to an unanticipated resignation, however the team at Larson Maddox wants to emphasize that the preparation of a strong succession plan is the proactive solution.

It is certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that future corporate governance will insist upon a workable and viable succession plan being in place for board-level and business-critical roles. For leaders, this may be a good time to consider what successions looks like in your organisation – if the company’s Head of General Counsel submitted their resignation tomorrow, do you have a suitable internal successor? If no obvious choice comes into mind, how can your company remedy this?

 
2. Flexible working considerations

The world of working has fundamentally changed with the rise of flexible and hybrid working patterns. And while the demand for regulatory financial services professionals continues to grow worldwide, strategies to facilitate flexible and remote working has become essential in attracting and retaining top-tier talent.

However, many leaders have a desire for employees to come to an office environment. Certain functions are not as effective remotely as they are in-person. For example, some collaboration tools limit the creativity and genuineness that in-person collaboration can bring. Resources like knowledge and equipment can also be less accessible when working from home, too.

Why does this matter? If flexible working impacts an employee’s ability to perform or communicate well, it may cause issues in the long run. Leaders must carefully balance an employee’s desire for more flexibility with business needs – stability is absolutely vital right now.

Another important consideration with flexible working is the ability to mentor and train new workers or recent graduates —and it is next to impossible to perform some financial services roles remotely.

​
3. Retaining talent

Competition for top regulatory & legal talent will now naturally rise as the recent events in the banking world have underlined the importance of having strong legal partners and in-house regulatory experts.

Consider how you retain your regulatory professionals – do you have a strong company culture, are you confident in your retention strategies, and is your organization paying well? Larson Maddox offers key salary guidance covering APAC's regulatory & legal industry, so you can benchmark your firm against its competitors.

In summary, one thing is for certain:
​
Presented in 1686, Sir Isaac Newton’s third Law of Motion, ‘That for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction…’ has stood the test of time. In the immediate and long term, the financial services industry will need to react to the consequences. The role of regulatory and legal experts will become increasingly vital to ensure a compliant system underpins the sector.

Simply put, banking cannot exist without universal trust in the regulatory framework that protects depositors. Does your organization have the right talent in place for this?