Clinical reg tech provider, Comentis, which aims to protect and support the vulnerable who would otherwise go unidentified or undetected, has appointed Richard Farr as a non-executive director (NED).
The appointment follows mounting regulatory pressure in the financial and legal services sectors which requires professionals in these areas to better identify, support and protect vulnerable or reduced cognitive clients.
With over 30 years’ experience, Farr is a well-known figure across corporate and retail financial services as chief executive director at consulting firm Telos Solutions. Farr also currently serves on the EmoneyHub Ltd board as a non-exec director.
A veteran in the market, Farr holds a number of influential roles across the financial services industry including being the chair of Association of Professional Compliance Consultants (APCC) Operational Steering Group, as well as being the chair of APCC Vulnerability Working Group.
Farr is also the former chair of ILAG Regulation (UK & EU) and member of its Risk Management Practitioner Groups, and of the AMI compliance forum too.
This appointment comes at a pivotal time for the vulnerability market which is going through a dramatic upheaval due to mounting regulatory pressures and given the increasing mental health issues being witnessed across the UK right now.
He said: “After the last couple of years, it’s fair to say we’re living through challenging times.
“The combination of escalating regulatory focus culminating in the FCA’s Consumer Duty and a growing number of customers facing vulnerable circumstances or reduced cognition means that financial and legal firms are in need of consistent specialist support.
“I look forward to working with the team at Comentis to raise awareness of the genuine importance of having an industry standard for identifying financial vulnerability and reduced capacity for regulatory intentions to be adequately satisfied.”
Jonathan Barrett, CEO and co-founder at Comentis, said: “We are delighted to have Richard on board given his in-depth and longstanding expertise in the sector.
“There has never been a more important time for firms to take financial vulnerability and reduced mental capacity seriously. Bluntly, we are witnessing a vulnerability epidemic.
“With the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)estimating that one in two adults could be at risk of financial vulnerability, the chances are that most regulated firms will have already assisted such a client and if they haven’t, then they will do soon.”
