On 17 October 2018, the FCA published Feedback Statement 18/2: Digital Regulatory Reporting (FS18/2).

FS18/2 follows a call for input that the FCA launched in February 2018 regarding how technology could achieve smarter regulatory reporting. The FCA originally called this process ‘Model Driven Machine Executable Regulatory Reporting’ but renamed it as Digital Regulatory Reporting (DRR).

The call for input outlined a ‘proof of concept’ for DRR developed at the FCA’s November 2017 TechSprint which could potentially make it easier for firms to meet their regulatory reporting requirements and improve the quality of the data that they provide. The call for input sought feedback on technical aspects of the proof of concept and asked for views on how it could be improved. It also sought feedback on some of the broader issues associated with the development and potential implementation of the proof of concept. FS18/2 summarises the feedback that the FCA received from the call for input, its response to the feedback received and sets out next steps.

The FCA reports that although its investigative work is at a preliminary stage, feedback to the call for input shows that implementing DRR is a concept that the financial services industry considers worth regulators investigating further. The FCA adds that pilot work is due to be completed in November, with pilot participants expected to publish a technology paper in Q1 2019. This paper will provide an assessment of the technologies used to develop a DRR prototype during the pilot tests.