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Regulation Innovation: Protecting Consumers Through Technology & Trust FALL 2016

Session 1: October 14, 2:00-3:30 pm
Belfer 503 (M-RCBG Conference Room)

Session 2: November 4, 2:00-3:30 pm
Belfer 503 (M-RCBG Conference Room)

Regulation Innovation – Rethinking the labyrinth:  Lyn Farrell on what’s wrong with consumer financial protection regulation and how to fix it.

Kathlyn Farrell headshot.

is one of America’s top experts in consumer financial protection regulation. A lawyer and prominent consultant, she is a Managing Director at Treliant Risk Advisors where she works with most of America’s largest banks and innumerable other financial companies on how to comply with the labyrinthian rules guiding consumer finance. She literally wrote the book on that topic, in that she authors the official textbook that forms the basis of professional recognition as a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager by the American Bankers Association.

Famed for her witty and incisive speaking style, she appears in front of thousands of people annually at financial events. She is also exceptionally thoughtful about the failings of the regulatory system today, which is delivering public policy outcomes that are mixed at best, while imposing very high costs and risks on the system.

 Lyn will share her insights on problems and solutions as part of my project, Regulation Innovation: Protecting Consumers through Technology and Trust.

Session1: Introduction of Jo Ann Barefoot’s project on financial innovation and regulation, with guest speaker Claire Sunderland Hay, Head of the Bank of England’s FinTech Accelerator.

This study group kicks off the second year of Jo Ann Barefoot’s work at M-RCBG on her book, Regulation Innovation – Protecting Consumers through Technology and Trust. Jo Ann will outline her project’s goals and approach and how her concept has evolved since last year. This will include discussion of the trend toward creating “regulatory sandboxes” that can enable government to undertake close-up, rapid learning about financial innovation in the U.S., the U.K. and other parts of the world.

After Jo Ann’s introduction, we will meet with Claire Sunderland Hay, who will discuss how the Bank of England is approaching the challenge of addressing fast-changing technology by creating a new accelerator program.

Claire Sunderland Hay headshot.

Claire Sunderland Hay

Claire leads the Bank of England’s engagement with FinTech firms as the Head of its FinTech Accelerator.  Prior to this role she was Private Secretary to the Deputy Governor for Financial Stability. Claire joined the Bank from the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority and prior to that was with Ernst & Young. She is a qualified accountant with experience in corporate finance.

Jo Ann Barefoot is CEO of Jo Ann Barefoot Group, LLC. She has worked for over thirty-five years in private and public sector roles focused on consumer financial protection, inclusion, and technology. As Deputy Comptroller of the Currency she established the first federal consumer protection oversight function for national banks. She has served on the staff of the U. S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; was Co-chair of Treliant Risk Advisors; and was Partner and Managing Director at KPMG, leading the firm’s privacy practice and a nationwide consumer finance consulting group. Barefoot has advised all of America’s largest financial institutions, many other financial companies, various federal agencies, and numerous community banks and non-profits. She serves on the Consumer Advisory Board to the new federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; is a member of the board of the Center for Financial Services Innovation; and serves on advisory boards to several fintech startups.  She produces the podcast interview series Barefoot Innovation, speaks annually to thousands of people, has authored four books on bank regulatory matters and has published nearly 200 articles. She was the primary author of Common Ground -- Increasing Consumer Benefits and Reducing Costs in Bank Regulation, published by the University of Wisconsin. She was an International Visitor to the European Community and has worked in rural India with micro-finance and education in leprosy communities. Barefoot’s research project is entitled, “Regulation Innovation – Protecting Consumers through Technology and Trust,” and her faculty sponsor is Brigitte Madrian, Aetna Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management. Email: joann_barefoot@hks.harvard.edu 

Jo Ann Barefoot headshot.

M-RCBG senior fellow Jo Ann Barefoot.