Stephen Morse joined Barclays Capital as global head of compliance three years ago. He previously worked for CSFB in New York in a global compliance role and, before that, for Bankers Trust and JP Morgan. Originally an LLB (Hons) Law graduate from Leicester University, Stephen moved into compliance in 1987, when the profession was only just becoming established and banks relied on law firms and accountants to provide compliance advice.
Q: What makes a good compliance professional?
A strong understanding of a firm’s business, products and strategy; a strong understanding of market regulations; and strong communication and decision-making skills. You also need to be able to think on your feet – the regulatory environment is continuously changing and what’s right one day might not be right the next.
Q: Compliance is a career for people who are most at home following rules - right?
Wrong. Compliance increasingly requires a significant amount of judgment. We often operate in a grey area in which things are rarely simply right or wrong; it’s up to the compliance professional to decide.
Q: Surely rules are rules?
Regulations aren’t always clear. Plus we typically have to comply with rules in different countries and different sectors at once. There’s often potential for significant deliberation about the best course of action. And even if we do conform with regulations, there’s always reputational risk to consider – we can act in accordance with rules, but still do wrong in the eyes of clients and the public.
Q: How have things changed since your career began?
These days compliance is much more centered around reputation management and the rights and wrongs of particular transactions. We also see an increasing number of salespeople and traders moving into compliance, and firms like Barclays Capital have begun training compliance professionals in house, as there’s no ready supply of people with the right experience and attributes.
Q: What’s the biggest challenge for the compliance function?
Consistently striking the right balance between being commercially oriented and risk and control-focused.
Stephen’s tips- Develop broad knowledge of the business areas – compliance functions cover all aspects of the investment banking business
- Familiarise yourself with business ethics – compliance is increasingly a question of reputational risk as opposed to mere regulatory risk
- Read up on the legal and regulatory environment within which financial services companies operate – there are plenty of specialist publications like Compliance Reporter, Compliance Monitor and Complinet (a website), that can help improve your knowledge.
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