Governor Software, the TransAtlantic fintech firm, has produced software that it claims to be the first of its kind, allowing its customer-banks to link internal policies and controls to the Financial Conduct Authority's rules automatically.

At a normal bank, compliance officers and their teams have to ensure that everyone remains compliant with the latest regulations. The new software creates direct links between a financial institution's version of the rulebook (but not anything a website owned by the FCA) and its internal policies and controls. This linkage obviously supports new versions of the rulebook that every bank's systems update automatically; it also offers the institution clear, real-time proof of compliance in a structured manner that is fully auditable. This, according to a spokesman for Governor, is the novelty.

He revealed: "The FCA comes into your firm on a visit and goes straight to the Governor software, which is very visual and pulls in new FCA rules.

"Let's say that some arrangements that your firm has made in the past in line with the rules are expressed in green lettering. Then the FCA changes a rule. Any one of those green arrangements that is affected by the change - i.e. that will require action to make it comply with the new rule - will turn red. Also, when the rules change, the new arrangements come up on your screen.

"Other companies (vendors) publish this rulebook within their software, but we believe we are the first to take the structure and enable clients (banks) to link their policies directly to it. This not only saves man-hours, automatically alerting appropriate team members when their policies need updating or reviewing, but also provides comprehensive oversight and compliance through auditable mapping.

"When a regulator walks through your door they think and assess financial institutions in terms of the FCA Handbook. This update basically allows our clients to present their data in the way the regulator thinks."

Governor Software participated in the FCA's TechSprint event in November, in which contributor-vendors successfully developed a ‘proof of concept’ which could make regulatory reporting requirements machine-readable and executable. This straight-through processing of regulatory returns is likely to make submissions more accurate, cut costs and help banks implement new rules more quickly. The FCA is now asking interested parties for their views about how IT can make it easier for firms to meet their regulatory reporting requirements while improve the quality of the information they send the regulators.