Conflicts of Interest - A Practical Guide for Financial Institutions

At Redcliffe Training our Conflicts of Interest course is delivered by a specialist with over four decades of experience managing risk in the UK's banking and financial services sector. An impressive, accelerated career with Lloyds Bank, this expert soon found himself working at the senior management level within the private banking and wealth management division. From here he was headhunted by a merchant bank, joining at a board director level. His role was to head both the private bank and the group risk management function.

Since retirement, our COI course leader has made huge strides within his freelance career and is currently an external Master Trainer at both HSBC and Bank of China where he delivers major projects on a wide range of topics. Helping to design HSBC's global flagship Risk Management Programme for senior middle managers, our trainer has played a solid part in its delivery worldwide.

This trainer has delivered specialised in-depth sessions to global giants, right through to small firms and partnerships. Our specialist is a time-served expert, taking him across the UK, USA, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Highly adaptive, hands-on and widely sought-after, Redcliffe’s course facilitator gains excellent feedback from delegates with every session. Comfortable training participants at any seniority stage, his expertise includes but is not limited to Risk Management, Trade Finance, Regulatory Compliance, FCC & AML and all aspects of Corporate, Private & Retail Banking. He is also a highly experienced soft skills trainer and has completed numerous “train the trainer” assignments.

• Conflict of interest training helps participants formally identify in a risk-based manner, by assessing if conflicts are Actual, Potential or Perceived.
• Our ethical approach to conflicts of interest and why this is critical.
• Attendees will learn to understand the challenges created by the three major types of exposure to conflicts in a regulated firm.
• We cover the legal and regulatory framework.
• Appreciate that the UK Regulators' ‘default’ position states every effort must be made to eliminate Conflicts of Interest where possible as the first step.
• To realise that the ‘Disclosure and Client Consent’ approach is a ‘second step’ and MUST always follow concerted efforts to eliminate Conflicts of Interest: it should never be regarded as the ‘first step’ or the ‘default response’.
• Conflicts of interest training aids recognition of the need for a clear line of communication between operations and senior management
• Participants will recognise good practice.
• Avoid poor, sloppy or ineffective management.
• Define an effective and comprehensive COI policy.
• Learn how to identify unexpected consequences or hidden conflicts of interest.
• Identify best responses.
• Create a clear and auditable management method ensuring transparency.
• Participants will think like either a risk owner or a compliance professional with this COI course.

• At Redcliffe, Conflict of Interest training demonstrates how to make these ‘business as usual’ without over-engineering the process or falling short of Regulatory expectations.
• Course content is regularly updated based upon current challenges and regulatory ‘hot buttons’.
• Client feedback is taken incredibly seriously and we understand the importance of input for future sessions.
• We have delivered financial-related courses for over 20 years to a wide range of global firms and businesses whilst understanding the subject thoroughly.
• This course is one of our core competencies.
• We do not employ trainers. All our specialists are highly experienced professionals with relevant qualifications and vocational experience in the real world and ‘on the ground’.
• We have delivered many core governance, risk and compliance courses over recent years and have a very clear understanding of what ‘good and bad’ sessions look like and the consequences, intended or not, of poor decision-making.
• We have developed highly interactive and very enjoyable case studies to enhance learning points. All delegates report these as a high point.
• Feedback from our COI course is of consistently high standards.

Delivered live online or in person at an agreed location, conflicts of interest training is a ‘must know’ for:

• Senior managers seeking to gain a deeper, more confident understanding of their responsibilities in this area
• Compliance & Risk Officers
• Department Heads, Team Leaders and Supervisors
• Any front-line and other team members operating in a financial firm where conflicts of interest pose a critical risk will greatly benefit from this session

With policy and procedure submissions found to be lacking, conflicts of interest are gaining increased regulatory scrutiny. In light of this, the need for expert Conflict of Interest training is required now more than ever. The market is changing rapidly, with consolidation and restructuring becoming a regular occurrence. Both involve changes to business models and firms must have a robust approach in place for dealing with any conflicts that may arise.

All too often, firms think that a generic conflict of interest policy and an (empty) conflicts of interest register means ‘job done’. Potential conflicts are often inherent in such arrangements and cannot always be prevented. Our COI course highlights that although conflicts may be present:

• There’s evidence of proper thought and consideration of the conflicts by senior managers
• Any conflicts have been effectively managed and completely disclosed, and clients’ interests remain at the heart of your firm’s decision-making process

Conflicts, particularly those relating to governance structures and business models, often need managing through a combination of measures depending on the firm, its staff and business model.

Note: Conflicts of Interest training covers the topic generally in an EU setting. For private or client-based delivery, it can be modified to make it more or less FCA-specific and more or less FVZF EBA/ESMA-specific depending on client requirements.