1The Role of Data in a Financial Crisis
This first chapter serves to provide context for the rest of the book – setting out the causes of the 2007–2008 Financial Crisis (the Financial Crisis) that swept the global financial markets well over a decade ago and has substantially impacted the banking and finance industry as we know it today. It was this turbulent period that provided the impetus for the substantial body of financial regulation that has been introduced over the last 10 years, as well as the enhanced legal data requirements that this body of regulation imposes, extending beyond the business and operational needs for such legal data.
In subsequent chapters we will further examine the Financial Crisis through various lenses, as some of the more pertinent aspects of recent financial regulation (such as regulatory capital requirements, margin for uncleared derivatives and recovery and resolution planning) are considered in detail. It is impossible to adequately consider legal data within the banking industry without reference to the Financial Crisis. The substantial regulatory change that has occurred affects how banks conduct business; therefore, legal data, once initially important for business optimisation and business processes, is now mandated for regulatory compliance.
For the purpose of this book, any reference made to the ‘Financial Crisis’ should be taken to mean the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and its subsequent impact. In the context of this book, by legal ...