Former MEP Kay Swineburne joins KPMG in London
One of the authors of the European Union’s MiFID regulations has joined KPMG, after standing down as an MEP in May. Kay Swineburn, who was a representative in European Parliament for the Welsh Conservatives between 2009 and 2019, arrives at the Big Four firm as Vice Chair of its financial services wing, and Chair of its risk and regulatory insight centre division.
The financial services sector is facing a period of rapid disruption. With the rise of digitally agile competitors coinciding with a rapidly expanding web of regulatory obligations to comply with, many traditional market incumbents are keen to find new ways to streamline their businesses, buoying the demand for compliance consulting services in the UK.
To that end, professional services giant KPMG has sought to get a leg up on the competition by enlisting the services of one of the driving forces behind European regulation in the last decade. Kay Swineburne, one of the authors for the EU’s MiFID regulations, has joined KPMG in the UK in order to Chair its risk and regulatory insight centre division. The role will see her work closely with Karim Haji, Head of financial services, advising his leadership team and supporting board, and C-suite level client relationships.
Commenting on Swineburne’s arrival, Bill Michael, Chair of KPMG in the UK, said, “Her wealth of experience and knowledge will be invaluable to our clients, and Kay’s arrival underscores our commitment to attracting the very best talent from across the market.”
The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive is the EU legislation that regulates firms who provide services to clients linked to ‘financial instruments’ (shares, bonds, units in collective investment schemes and derivatives), and the venues where those instruments are traded. MiFID applied in the UK from November 2007, and was revised by MiFID II, which took effect in January 2018, to improve the functioning of financial markets in light of the financial crisis and to strengthen investor protection. MiFID II extended the MiFID requirements in a number of areas.
During her time as a member of European Parliament, Swineburne was coordinator for the ECR group and UK spokesperson on Economic and Monetary Affairs, successfully negotiated a number of dossiers concerning the UK's key priority on Europe of Financial Services, and was one of the lead designers for the EU’s post-financial crisis rules on trading and clearing. This included MiFID II, which she also acted as Shadow Rapporteur on a report for. Swinburne opted against standing in the European elections in May, as the UK is in the process of leaving the EU. Prior to being an MEP, she also worked for Deutsche Bank in the 1990’s.
Speaking on her new role, Swineburne said, “The future will not be about technical rules based regulation, but about demonstrating that a firm acts within the best interests of society, the environment and the economy. The team at KPMG recognises that the corporate world has to work harder to demonstrate its value and I am excited to be taking up a strategic role at the firm to help shape and define that value.”
