The best thing that regulators can do for financialinstitutions, short of issuing fewer regulations, is to make theregs simpler and compliance methodologies clearer, say respondentsto a recent survey from Minneapolis-based global consulting firmWolters Kluwer Financial Services.

According to the firm's November Regulatory & RiskManagement Indicator, banks and credit unions wantmore guidance from regulators and have grown more concerned withtheir own ability to manage compliance obligations and risk. Nearly80% of respondents showed significant concerns about stayingabreast of regulatory change and complying with regulator demands,compared to slightly more than 60% of respondents showing similarconcern levels when the company surveyed 400-plus financialinstitutions in January.

In addition, the percentage of respondents showing a significantconcern with their ability to manage risk across their organizationrose from over 50% in January to more than 60% in the currentIndicator.

The combined RESPA/TILA disclosure rule continued to top institutionsconcerns with the Dodd-Frank Act and Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau at nearly 70%. Requirements for qualified mortgages at 66%and qualified residential mortgages at 64% were not far behind.Regulatory risk remained the top risk management concern at 64%along with asset and liability management at 40% in secondplace.

“Intense risk-based supervision, together with the rapid pace ofregulatory change and heavy sanctions for noncompliance arecreating mounting challenges for U.S. financial institutions as wehead into 2014,” said Timothy Burniston, vice president and seniordirector of Wolters Kluwer's Risk and Compliance ConsultingPractice. “The latest Indicator shows just how increasinglydifficult, resource intensive, and time consuming it is forfinancial institutions to get in front of regulatory change andunderstand their true risk picture.”