Looking forward to 2026, which regulatory initiatives will be capturing the attention of the securities finance market?
Although the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that the go-live date for reporting of Securities Loan Transactions under SEC Rule 10c-1a and FINRA鈥檚 6500 Series SLATE has been shifted to 2028, there will be notice and comment periods for the agency to collect information on the economic impacts of these rules (and the SEC Short Reporting Rule 13f-2 鈥� which was also pushed back to 2028). Both introduce far more demanding expectations for transparency in securities lending and require accurate, same-day submission of detailed loan data.
In addition, the mandatory clearing of US Treasury cash and repo transactions is slated for 2027. Meanwhile, in Europe, the UK and EU are conducting reviews of their post-trade and transaction reporting regimes that will likely result in changes to reporting requirements. The European markets are also making the transition to T+1 settlement in late 2027. These rules arrive at a time when regulators are looking for consistency across jurisdictions, systems, desks and asset classes, which means firms will need stronger foundations and tightly governed workflows to meet expectations.
Reviewing the list of these upcoming regulations, which do you believe the industry is least prepared for and why?
The regulation the industry is least prepared for is SEC Rule 10c-1a. In early 2025, the SEC extended the initial reporting date from January 2026 to September 2026, and later postponed it again to September 2028, acknowledging the complexity of the rule and the need for a more orderly implementation. While the extension offers additional time, it also underscores how significant the operational lift will be.
Firms must prepare for same-day reporting of detailed securities lending data, adapt to still-evolving technical specifications and plan around the uncertainty created by ongoing litigation. Most organisations have not historically captured or validated lending data at the level of precision 10c-1a requires, and many still rely on fragmented or manual processes. As a result, building the centralised data controls and scalable validation architecture needed to comply with the new reporting date remains one of the industry鈥檚 most challenging tasks.
There seems to be a growing reliance on automation and centralised reporting systems. Do you agree, and if so, how can firms shape their systems to support ever changing regulation?
We fully agree. The shift toward centralised, automated reporting has accelerated as regulators demand consistency across rule sets. Firms are increasingly moving validation earlier in the lifecycle, standardising controls, improving audit trails and reducing manual bottlenecks. To support constant regulatory change, systems need to be configurable rather than hard-coded, capable of aligning compliance, operations and technology around shared infrastructure. Intelligent automation and scalable validation frameworks help firms adapt quickly while strengthening data integrity. This evolution marks the transition from reactive compliance toward proactive, data-driven control.
High-quality data is a critical component to navigate reporting fields. Which avenues are firms venturing into to attain quality data, and how is AI assisting in this journey?
Firms are enhancing source-system coverage, expanding reconciliation programmes, and deploying independent validation frameworks to elevate accuracy. Many are also rationalising their data flows to eliminate silos and ensure reporting inputs are consistent across asset classes and internal teams. AI is beginning to support this work as an extension of strong data architecture. n-Tier鈥檚 roadmap leverages AI for high-speed anomaly detection and emerging causal analysis capabilities to surface issues earlier and pinpoint break origins. These tools help clients increase reliability at scale while reducing the operational strain of manual review.
Can you explore how the firm is adapting to meet client demand, and how you are seeing this demand evolve?
Client demand is shifting toward resilient, centralised infrastructures that can support multiple regulations simultaneously and adapt quickly as requirements evolve. Over the past year, firms have accelerated efforts to modernise validation workflows and build the governance needed for richer, more frequent reporting. In response, n-Tier has continued to advance the flexibility of our Compliance Workbench, expanded our rule libraries and embedded intelligent automation that helps clients identify issues before they escalate. We are seeing clients prioritise scalability, transparency, and earlier-stage controls, and we are aligning our platform enhancements to meet those expectations.
As the market takes its first steps into the new year, how is n-Tier shaping its strategic priorities over the next 12 months?
Our strategic focus for 2026 is on strengthening the data foundations that underpin high-quality regulatory reporting. We are prioritising scalable validation, intelligent automation, and deeper cross-regulatory capabilities to support emerging mandates such as 10c-1a and SLATE. We are also expanding our AI-enabled anomaly detection tools, reinforcing our commitment to helping clients make the shift from reactive reporting to proactive, data-driven control. As reporting regimes continue to evolve, our goal is to provide the infrastructure that allows firms to keep pace with regulator expectations while supporting growth and operational efficiency.
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