From regulation to technology & innovation: Mitigating behavioural risk and enhancing cultural growth to build resilience and trust in financial services

This RegTech Leadership Forum brought together voices from across financial services, regulation, compliance, risk, HR and RegTech. Contributors included representatives from the FCA, Tide, NatWest, Lloyds Banking Group, Alba Bank, Zumo, Modulr, SolasOS, Vialex, Co-Labs Global, Snugg, Norwood Compliance and FinTech-Tables.

The discussion focused on behavioural risk, non-financial misconduct and the gap between stated values and lived behaviour. Contributors explored how culture is shaped in practice through leadership, incentives, escalation routes, policy design and everyday decision-making. The conversation also examined the growing expectation on firms to show that conduct standards can hold under pressure, not simply sit in policy documents or training decks gathering administrative dust.

Firms may set out expectations clearly, but that does not mean those expectations are easy to follow in the moment. When escalation feels risky, incentives pull in the wrong direction, or policy is difficult to use, conduct weakens. The issue is not only what organisations say they value, but whether people can act on those values when decisions are time-bound, pressured, and commercially sensitive.

The session surfaced a clear set of priorities for firms navigating this space. Behavioural expectations need to be translated into observable actions, not abstract cultural statements. Policy and regulatory guidance need to be usable in day-to-day work. Escalation should be treated as a normal part of sound decision-making, not as an act of personal courage. Incentives need to support good judgement across the organisation, and governance needs to create learning loops that show how culture is being reinforced, challenged and improved over time.