Head of Regulatory Reporting helps UK bank prepare for Basel 3.1

The client

Our client is a leading UK merchant banking group providing lending, deposit taking and securities trading. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, it employs around 3,000 people, principally in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The challenge

When the head of regulatory reporting departed unexpectedly, the client contacted Chirag Raichura, associate director for corporate functions at Eames Consulting, to ask for help finding a suitable replacement. The role was especially urgent as the team needed to prepare for Basel 3.1 regulations, which were due to come into effect the following year.

Finding a candidate with the required technical skillset, the combined niche knowledge of capital, liquidity and Bank of England reporting, and the management skills to take over the team, was particularly challenging. Coming in October 2023, with many senior candidates holding out for their Q1 2024 bonuses, the timing was also not ideal.

The solution

“Finding a niche skillset for a senior banking hire is always challenging, particularly when you have such a small talent pool to work with. With the upcoming Basel 3.1 legislation, time was against us. But thanks to our understanding of the client’s needs and our knowledge of the senior regulatory talent market, we were quickly able to go back to them with two excellent candidates who had the right mix of skills.” Chirag Raichura, Associate Director, Eames Consulting

Having recruited for the client through Eames finance for the last 12 months, we had a detailed understanding of their needs and the profile of candidate that would fit the bill from a skills and culture perspective.

Due to the urgency of the hire, we agreed to provide a shortlist within a week. To identify suitable candidates, Chirag used his market expertise to carry out detailed market mapping of the available talent. This involved exploring our existing network for both active and passive candidates with the right profile, and speaking to heads of regulatory reporting who were not currently looking for a role, to find out if they could recommend anyone.

Chirag went back to the client within a week and advised them that there were only two candidates in the market who we believed were both suitable for the role and interested at this time. The client felt that one of the candidates in particular had the technical and personality fit they were looking for.

However, the following week the client advised us that they had decided to fill the role directly, and had moved an internal candidate into the role until they could find the right person.

Three months later, at a scheduled follow-up to discuss the progress of the direct search, the client advised us that they had been unsuccessful in finding the right candidate and would like to meet with our first-choice candidate, who we had been keeping warm. He was offered the role within two weeks of his first interview and subsequently started the role within four weeks. 

The result 

“We originally didn’t instruct Eames to support with the recruitment for our head of regulatory reporting. However, I was impressed by the way this was handled and they keep me updated on the market, should we need additional support. After a couple of weeks, I received a call from Eames regarding a candidate who they had remained in touch with and was recommended to meet.

The interview process went smoothly. Eames were there to support throughout the whole process, without pushing us, which was unusual for the market at the time. The candidate was clearly informed and prepared for all the interviews, citing that Eames had provided him with all the information needed.

It was a pleasure dealing with Eames to hire the candidate and I only have positive feedback.” - Talent Acquistion Manager

Having a proven head of regulatory reporting helped to ease the pressure and workload on the team. Our candidate was quickly able to use his proven leadership skills to raise team morale and provide technical subject matter expertise to help mentor and coach junior team members. He also quickly started to shape a new team structure to ensure operational efficiency.

The bank now has the right level of expertise to prepare for the looming Basel 3.1 regulations.

The future

We have a positive long term relationship in place with the client and have since supplied them with a regulatory change senior manager, a capital regulatory reporting analyst and a liquidity regulatory reporting analyst. With more headcount expected next year, we’re excited to continue supporting them with their hiring needs across the business.

If you’re looking for a new opportunity or to hire the right talent for your team, please contact Chirag Raichura at chirag.raichura@eamesconsulting.com