Market Structure & Regulatory Affairs Specialist (Vice President) in City of London

ING Financial Markets, UK

The Work Environment

Financial Markets (FM) is one of the global product business lines of ING Wholesale Banking and is ING's gateway to secondary capital markets around the world. The FM Regulatory Centre of Expertise (Reg CoE) team has a Front Office mandate and is responsible for Regulatory Risk (excluding prudential) & Control across the three pillars shown below: Regulatory Outlook, Advice (including external advocacy) & Implementation, Non-Financial Risk & Control, Data Management & Data Governance. The UK FM Regulation & Non-Financial Risk (NFR) team is the UK component of the global FM Reg CoE team and covers the first two pillars for the UK (the third pillar is centrally managed from the Netherlands). The UK FM Regulation & NFR team works in collaboration with FM Reg CoE colleagues in the Netherlands and the US, as well as with functions spanning the three lines of defence, including Legal, Compliance, Trading Risk Management, Operational Risk Management, Audit, Regulatory Transaction Reporting and Operations.

The Team

The key objective of the UK FM Regulation & Non-Financial Risk team is to manage the execution of UK FM’s Regulatory and NFR objectives, including by being a trusted advisor, instigating and overseeing UK FM regulatory programmes, and maintaining a robust UK FM control environment. The team mandate comprises:

• Being the single point of contact for UK FM regulatory implementation and remediation programmes, collaborating with stakeholders to ensure accurate and timely delivery;
• Enabling UK FM Sales and Trading desks to operate within evolving regulatory parameters by delivering commercially aware advice on regulatory rules and expectations;
• Managing UK FM’s NFR and Compliance Frameworks, ensuring related controls are designed and executed in accordance with ING’s risk appetite and industry best practice;
• Overseeing the progress of UK FM Risk, Compliance and Control deliverables; and producing the requisite check and challenge feedback to ensure UK FM business lines remain compliant;
• Maintaining a culture of regulatory and operational excellence, championing a strong UK FM Risk Culture and driving change by supporting strategic initiatives and transformation projects.

The Role

We are seeking an experienced, VP-level regulatory professional to join the UK FM Regulation & NFR team. Your focus will be on the regulatory deliverables in the team. However, where needed you could also be asked to provide your help to pick up specific NFR deliverables. Alongside the broader mandate of the team as set out above, key individual responsibilities include:

• Providing follow-up on regulatory horizon scanning or other regulatory insights. Provide the support and advice to relevant stakeholders and ensuring changes are implemented in accordance with regulatory requirements and timelines with solutions to protect ING’s business interest;
• Consolidating responses to FM-relevant UK regulatory Discussion and Consultation Papers, contributing to related decision-making and ensuring the FM (global) position is clearly articulated through external advocacy (through active participation in relevant industry working groups and/or on own name basis);
• Constructively challenging the status quo, exercising check and challenge principles and creating technologically optimised solutions, in a fast changing and complex regulatory environment subject to increasing UK & EU regulatory divergence;
• Delivering on the core regulatory expertise required of the role in accordance with (UK) MiFID, SMCR, Conduct of Business, Product Governance, Market Abuse, as well as any other regulatory obligations applicable to Financial Markets;
• Ongoing learning to enhance regulatory and business knowledge, whilst supporting the development of junior members of the team, e.g., through knowledge sharing and coaching.

Candidate Profile

• A bachelor’s degree, supplemented with a professional qualification or master’s degree in a Regulatory, Legal, Compliance, Finance, Accounting, Business or Economics-related field;
• At least 6 years of relevant experience in a Financial Markets Front Office environment, preferably in a Market structure or Regulatory affairs role, or a hands-on, delivery-oriented Financial Markets Regulatory Legal role;
• Demonstrable interpretation and practical application of UK regulatory (non-prudential) obligations, including FSMA, FCA, HM Treasury requirements, and a firm understanding of EU equivalents (MiFID, EMIR, SFTR etc.);
• A clear and confident communicator, well-versed in managing multi-disciplinary senior-level stakeholder relationships with a proactive and innovative mindset and translating complex regulatory topics into tangible actions;
• An adaptable, driven team player, who confidently escalates or delegates where necessary, and maintains impactful, yet empathetic professional relationships.

ING’s purpose is ‘Empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business’. Every ING colleague is given the opportunity to contribute to that vision. We champion self-reliance and foster a collaborative and innovative culture. The Orange Code is our global manifest of how we stay true to our purpose and our tradition of reinvention and empowerment. It is made up of ING Values (we are honest; we are prudent; we are responsible) and ING Behaviours (you take it on and make it happen; you help others to be successful; you are always a step ahead). For us, success will only be achieved if we act with Integrity. Some companies see diversity as a box to be ticked. We see it as fundamental to our success and we encourage a proper work/life balance. At ING, you will be judged on your performance in line with the Orange Code. And that’s a promise.