Federal banking regulators released a revised guideline today that updates best practices for managing regulatory compliance risk to better align with reforms undertaken in response to the financial crisis.
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) issued for comment a draft revised guideline that details OSFI’s expectations for managing regulatory compliance risk at federally-regulated financial firms. OSFI notes that compliance violations can have significant negative effects on a firm’s reputation and/or its soundness, and yet its original guidelines in this area have not been updated since 2003.
As a result, the existing guidelines do not fully align with OSFI’s supervisory framework, which has been revised in the wake of the financial crisis. Additionally, OSFI notes that the current guidelines do not reflect all of the principles outlined by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in its latest guidance for managing operational risk; principles of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors; and, OSFI’s latest corporate governance guidelines, which were updated in 2013. So, this guideline is being updated to better reflect the myriad changes that have taken place over the past few years.
The revised guideline sets out the requirement for firms to establish and maintain an enterprise-wide framework of regulatory risk management controls; and, stresses that these controls should include independent oversight.
Comments on the revised guideline are due by June 20.