Bank Of England: Transforming Data Collection – Reporting Transformation Committee Minutes – July 2021

Minutes

• ACT: TDC Secretariat to incorporate proposed changes to the Terms of Reference.
• ACT: TDC team to incorporate proposed changes to the project goals.

Introduction

AM and RD introduced themselves and welcomed all to the meeting. AM laid out the history of the work programme and gave a brief overview of the plan.

EM gave an overview of the delivery teams and their roles and responsibilities, then presented on the work, and workshops, completed since launch.

Key Discussion Points/Comments:

• In response to members’ questions, AM confirmed that a list of committee members will be published on the Bank of England website.

Purpose of the Reporting Transformation Committee

AS presented the broad structure of the programme, including the Reporting and Data Standards Transformation Board and other relevant initiatives. He went on to explain the role of the governance committees and delivery groups.

AS outlined the role of the Reporting Transformation committee, the process for replacement of members and expectations for attendance at meetings.

Key Discussion Points/Comments:

• AT recommended that the responsibilities of the two committees (data standards and reporting transformation) should be distinct, to avoid conflicting advice to the delivery teams.
• LF suggested that the terms of reference should indicate that the committee should approve proposed solutions, in addition to providing oversight of the work of the delivery teams.
• The Terms of Reference were approved by the committee, subject to the proposed changes.

ACT: TDC Secretariat to incorporate proposed changes to the Terms of Reference.

Project Goals

DF outlined the two year project goals, which were collated during various delivery team workshops.

Key Discussion Points/Comments:

• Members agreed the goals were achievable.
• LF suggested we should challenge why data is being collected, so that we can understand whether we are fulfilling the required purpose – there may well be a better way to produce what is needed.
• Members suggested that the goals should be clearer around what ‘useful’ and ‘valuable change’ mean. RP suggested that the goal should be consistent and maintainable models instead of ‘useful’. DS proposed that we need a specific ambition for what valuable change should look like. AT added that more value could be realised if change reduced the need for ad hoc reporting, and ultimately reduced reporting costs.
• CR proposed that the net for similar initiatives should be cast wide enough to include existing data initiatives that are best in class.
• Members felt the pursuit of a single data point model for the entire industry would be folly. They also emphasised the need not to introduce misalignments with other important jurisdictions as cross-border reporting is important for many firms.

DF explained the 9 month project goals

Key Discussion Points/Comments:

• AT suggested that the programme needs to establish what sort of solutions the Bank/FCA will be comfortable with, so that work is focused on viable solutions that can and will be implemented by regulators.
• KP felt that the wording of the nine month goals should focus more clearly on outcomes.
• DS proposed that we should communicate our findings widely, particularly as the initial use case do not cater for certain sectors such as insurance, but the lessons learnt will be important for all.

ACT: TDC team to incorporate proposed changes to the project goals.

Discovery Overview

EM outlined our roadmap for phase 1 of the work programme, explaining that the discovery for each use case will be staggered to match availability of resource. This will also maximise our ability to learn from, and reuse, work from previous use cases. EM gave an overview of the discovery aims and asked for approval.

Key Discussion Points/Comments:

• In response to AT’s concern that there are no committee meetings until late September, AM reassured members that there will be continued communication throughout August on progress, as well as a potential request for input.

Members suggested that if cost savings are a key metric, it would be important to consider cost drivers across firms as well as regulators and firms. SS and CR both pointed out that limiting the need for manual adjustments will drive down costs.

AOB

Members queried plans for future in-person meetings. AM explained that we are currently trialling hybrid meetings for the delivery teams, with a plan to expand this for committees in the future.

Attendees

Pardeep Bhatti (PB1), Metro Bank
Paul Burleton (PB2), BNY Mellon
Rebecca Ding (RD, Co-chair), Financial Conduct Authority
Dayo Forster (DF), Bank of England
Lee Fulmer (LF), UBS
Sandy Leggeat (SL), Goldman Sachs
Elizabeth Maloney (EM), JP Morgan
Robert McBride (RM), Lloyds Banking Group
Angus Moir (AM, Co-chair), Bank of England
David Palmer-Lee (DPL), Principality Building Society
Kamal Patel (KP), Barclays
Robert Pengelly (RP), Lloyds Banking Group
Charles Resnick (CR), ClearBank
Daniel Sadler (DS), Association of British Insurer
Simon Shapiro (SS), HSBC
Aaron Shiret (AS), Bank of England
Tammy Solomon (TS), Investec
Paul Thirtle (PT), NatWest
Andrew Turvey (AT), Belmont Green
Martin Udy (MU), Bank of England
Richard Walker-Smith (RWS), Bank of America
Rebecca Whitwam (RW), Bank of England

Observers

Andrew Gall (AG), Building Societies Association

Apologies

Jacqueline Davies, TSB Bank
Mark Jones, Cambridge & Counties Bank
Derek Paine, Mizuho International plc
Robert Thicket, Building Societies Association