Opening Cross: Start Your Data Diet Now to Be in Shape by MiFID 2
Diets are about controlling your intake. Regulations are increasingly about showing that you're in control of your intake of data.

Of course, the first thing to remember is that you’re doing this for yourself, not for what anyone else thinks when you’re lounging by the pool. Now, technically, this is where my analogy becomes tricky, because in the financial world, you are definitely going through this process to comply with MiFID 2 and other regulations. You need to be able to adequately report a multitude of data points to regulators and be sure—on pain of serious penalties—that they’re accurate, standardized, and consistent. But ultimately, yes, you’re doing this for yourself, because regulations come and go (and generally just keep coming), but you have to be prepared for all of them, not to mention the ones that don’t exist yet. So yes, this is about you and your overall (data) health on an ongoing basis, not just for one summer or new regulation, but rather about being fit enough to handle any challenge thrown at you.
The second thing to remember is that data is your friend: Imagine data as the healthy, nutritious food that keeps us going. Just like an athlete needs more carbs than I do (so people tell me), increased volumes of sophisticated data processes and analyses typically require more data. But increasing your data intake without that intense exercise to burn it off will leave you bloated and struggling to maintain peak performance. Over-consumption of even good data can be too much of a good thing, while a diet skewed to the wrong type of data may well leave you lacking essential nutrients.
And just as fitness is usually a diet or exercise issue, regulation is increasingly being recognized as a data issue, and meeting regulatory demands are acknowledged as being an issue of what data you consume, and what you do with it.
At the Asia-Pacific Financial Information Conference last week, issues of data governance and regulation were front and center of several discussions, but unlike in years gone by, the discussion has largely moved away from figuring out (or objecting to) what needs to be done, and assessing firms’ level of preparedness for (or panicking about) when it needs to be done, and how firms can achieve it in a way that ensures they aren’t just scrambling from one new requirement to the next, but actually future-proofing themselves against upcoming changes, as well as setting themselves up to get more value from their existing data from a business perspective.
One aspect of this is simply having staff and suppliers to fully understand the regulations themselves. Gone are the days when data professionals were responsible for finding which vendors had the best coverage, bullying the supplier into delivering the required number of terminals within budget, then counting who actually used them. Today’s data staff are also tasked with generating and guarding the data required for regulatory reporting, and the best of these individuals—HSBC Securities Services’ Chris Johnson, for example, who has given up much of his time to spreading the word about compliance not just within HSBC, but to all who will listen—know regulations as well as they know data itself.
Another aspect is centralizing your data so that all data assets can be managed as one, breaking down organizational siloes and other barriers that once made sense but now merely impede a firm from functioning efficiently in today’s business and regulatory environment.
Measure twice, cut once, as any carpenter will tell you. Or, to put it another way, get your data right, and accurate reporting will naturally follow.
Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.
To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@waterstechnology.com or view our subscription options here: https://subscriptions.waterstechnology.com/subscribe
You are currently unable to print this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (point 2.4), printing is limited to a single copy.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (clause 2.4), an Authorised User may only make one copy of the materials for their own personal use. You must also comply with the restrictions in clause 2.5.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
More on Emerging Technologies
Academic warns of systemic risk from AI-powered trading
Strategies generated by LLMs exhibit “very strange, correlated trading behavior”, says Lopez Lira.
Anthropic partners with S&P, TT to build AI hub, Talos acquires Coin Metrics, and more
The Waters Cooler: Bloomberg adopts agentic AI, DSB report homes in on fairer data costs, and asset managers are coming for your utilities in this week’s news roundup.
The Model Context Protocol brings agents to life—along with risk
Waters Wrap: From chat to infrastructure modernization, Anthropic’s MCP offers a ‘bridge’ to agentic AI, but its early days may prove disillusioning.
BofA ramps up AI deployment, patents
The bank has 1,400 patents in AI and machine learning, either granted or pending, alongside a growing portfolio of 250 models.
BNY CEO updates on ‘platform’ operating model, AI rollout
In its Q2 earnings call, the bank outlined its progress on rolling out its new operating model and ‘Eliza’ internal AI assistant.
NZX outlines plans to bolster fast-growing dark pool
Since launching one year ago, NZX’s dark book has 5.5% of the exchange’s total turnover, and price improvement per trade on average is 11 basis points, but the exchange has more in store.
Waters Wavelength Ep. 325: Octaura’s Brian Bejile
The CEO joins the podcast to talk about the vendor’s modernization efforts in credit and CLOs.
Agentic AI comes to Bloomberg Terminal via Anthropic protocol
The data giant’s ubiquitous terminal has been slowly opening up for years, but its latest enhancement represents a forward leap in what CTO Shawn Edwards calls, “the way we should talk to the world.”