The Legal Implications of Data Governance in the Financial Services Sector in the UK

Julie Varcoe-Cocks, Lawyer, , United Kingdom

Data governance has become one of the issues of key interest for those who work in the financial services industry in the United Kingdom (UK). Data protection laws have been around for a long time, yet in recent times there have been indications that regulatory authorities still do not consider financial services providers to have paid adequate attention to this aspect of their businesses. While each of the regulators have issued separate warnings, the principles underlying their concerns remain essentially the same. Recent fines have been imposed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) have again highlighted the importance for financial services organisations getting the issue of data governance and security right.. In August 2010, the UK branch of Zurich Insurance Plc was fined £2,275,000 by the FSA for failing to have adequate systems and controls in place to prevent the loss of customers’ confidential information.

Julie Varcoe-Cocks is a senior in-house lawyer with over 15 years in the corporate environment including the financial services, automotive, telecommunications and publishing industries. She has a broad range of legal and commercial experience working on compliance, strategic and commercial matters and has worked as a lawyer in private practice and in-house, holding various legal roles in Australia and in the UK.