CBA ramps up regtech efforts
(24 September 2018 – Australia) CBA’s head of governance and assurance Jasper Poos will join the board of the RegTech Association in a bold move by the bank to distance itself from its money laundering scandal.
The heightened engagement by CBA is in contrast to its historical insularity as new chief executive Matt Comyn looks to improve compliance and regulatory technology and reduce costs.
The financial services royal commission interim report is due with the government at the end of this week and is expected to highlight systems failures in the banks while the prudential regulator has singled out CBA’s “immature and under-resourced compliance function” in its report of governance.
Working with the RegTech Association could help the Bank plug technology gaps and improve its risk management culture.
“Regtech is a very important part of our innovation strategy,” Mr Poos said. “Our regtech strategy is looking to partner and do experiments, and if those are successful, to scale up. We have several experiments in flight, and we are looking to do more. We think collaboration is fundamental and the association is the perfect platform to stimulate and encourage that.”
The move comes with the government and financial regulators pushing the banks to improve technology. The federal government recently gave the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and extra A$6 million in funding to promote Australia as a leader in the area.
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