Bosses showing signs of ‘over-confidence’ on D&I strategies ahead of FCA policy

Ahead of the FCA publishing its diversity and inclusion (D&I) policy for financial services, the sector is showing signs of potential “over-confidence” when it comes to the progress of strategies.

That was according to KPMG UK, which revealed that more than half of executives felt they were ahead of other companies in the sector in research published yesterday (3 January 2024).

Back in September 2023, the FCA set out new proposals to boost D&I across the financial services industry.

They were designed to place more requirements on bigger businesses to collect, report and disclose data against certain characteristics and set targets to address under-representation.

The consultation closed on 18 December 2023 and the final policy is expected to be published in early 2024.

Ahead of this, KPMG highlighted that over half of executives (55%) felt they were ahead of other companies in the sector when it came to strategies and more than a third (38%) believed they were on par with their counterparts.

A total of 160 UK financial executives, including those in insurance, were polled by Opinium for the research on behalf of KPMG.

“It’s interesting to see the confidence in the sector when it comes to progress being made on D&I policies,” Karim Haji, global and UK head of financial services at KPMG, said

“It’s important to point out that this is a subjective view and perhaps a sign that leaders need better external assurance on how they compare against competitors.

“While leaders in financial services believe their D&I strategies are up to scratch, it’ll be interesting to see what these look like against the FCA’s new regulatory framework next year.”

Recruitment

Meanwhile, when it came to recruitment, some 79% of financial executives across the sector said they were confident about hiring people with the appropriate skills in 2024.

And KPMG found that recruiting, retaining talent and boosting skills were among the biggest investment priorities for bosses in 2024.

These are followed by improving employee mental health and wellbeing and accelerating D&I programmes.

“Understandably the sector is most focused on investing in workforce areas that have a more direct impact on near-term profitability and growth,” Haji said.

”But this can’t come at the expense of initiatives that support broader employee and societal needs such as mental health and D&I, which are integral to the long-term success of the sector.”