The emergence of regulatory technology firms is helping banks and other financial services firms get to grips with a growing regulatory burden. But the UK financial watchdog has warned that banks must accept responsibility for partnering with these so-called regtech firms and monitoring their risk management.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Innovate Finance Global Summit in London on April 10, Chris Woolard, the Financial Conduct Authority’s executive director of strategy and competition, said that financial services firms cannot delegate regulatory responsibility: “I can’t stress enough, that first line of responsibility sits with those principal firms.”