• Update on progress of Markets in Financial Instruments Directive Level 3
• The financial services agenda of the commission for 2008

As one of the most prescriptive pieces of financial services legislation to come out of Brussels, many are concerned that the timing of MiFIDs implementation has come amidst a heady period of regulatory change. Given the sweeping nature of MiFID reforms and their resonance across so many organisational functions, identifying areas for change and initiating action is a complex task. This session will examine the impact of a firms' implementation and approach to MiFID three months on from the November 1, 2008 deadline.

• Adapting to a post-MiFID environment
  • What does it mean for compliance today?
• CESR and impact of future MiFID interpretation and changes for 2008
• What have been the consequences of delayed implementation or partial implementation in other member states?
  • How has MiFID affected interaction with clients?

2007 saw implementation deadlines and important milestones for a series of major UK and international regulatory projects. In addition, the FSA pushed forward its wide-ranging initiative for more principles-based regulation. Compliance departments within financial institutions will have been engaged with these developments for some time. Hear the FSA set out their business plan for 2008 and discuss the likely outcomes following a year of intense regulatory change.

• Overview of 2007
• Advanced Risk-Responsive Operating FrameWork (ARROW) in a principles-led world
• Key business plan priorities for 2008

Tension between data protection requirements and your regulatory obligations

Data protection continues to rise up the corporate agenda, as high profile breaches hit the headlines and the Information Commissioner seeks additional enforcement powers. The competing, and sometime conflicting, requirements of data protection and financial services regulation will be explored through a series of case studies and an open question and answer session. Is this a no-win situation? The case studies will discuss:

• AML - what information needs to be acquired for KYC, and how this may conflict with data protection obligations
• Jurisdictional variation - how similar situations may have different data protection implications in different countries for the same organisation, making consistent cross border business operations a challenge
• Employee monitoring - managing the risk of employee misconduct and exercising obligations of monitoring and supervision whilst respecting their rights
• Regulatory disclosure - the provision of employee and client confidential information to regulators in the UK, the US and elsewhere without breaching data protection laws

It is a major concern of the FSA that many firms will miss the final Treating customer fairly deadline in December 2008. TCF breaches now feature in 40 per cent of fines imposed by the FSA, according to recent research. Despite this, many firms are failing to make sufficient progress in implementing the principle while others are simply turning a blind eye. With the FSA likely to increase their TCF supervisory and enforcement actions firms will need to begin to measure up to the regulatory upheaval they could face.

• Practical approach to building a management information suite
  • Using MI to evidence that your TCF process works
  • Ensuring consistency in compliant decision-making
  • Evidencing customer outcomes
• Building your firm's TCF "culture"
• Increasing the focus and intensity of supervision
• Ensuring you meet the TCF requirements ahead of the 2008 deadline

The FSA's retail distribution review has sparked much industry discussion and promises to have massive implications to on all those concerned. With the FSAs feedback statement due out in the first half of 2008, the following panel will discuss the likely implications to the industry.

• Examining the significant implications for 2008
  • How the retail distribution landscape will evolve: is regulatory change likely to have a major impact on the industry?
  • What does this mean for your organisation and what impact will it have on industry dynamics?
  • What does this mean for advisors?
    • Can consumers expect a fairer set of outcomes from advisers?
• What are the strategic challenges to banks?
• What are the possible constraints which arise from UK law and EU directives?
  • Understanding the key legal issues

Enterprise risk management represents a fundamental shift in the way businesses must approach risk. Identifying areas of concern in advance and proactively developing measures to comply with regulations is a must for all organisations engaged in

• Developing compliance as a risk management discipline
  • Assessing risk tolerance and exposure across the company
  • What are the practical knock-on effects to compliance?
  • What do firms need to do to manage risk more actively?
• Using "heat maps" as a way of identifying risk within your firm on ARROW visits
• How can risk management provide competitive advantage within the market?