Meet Your Regulator Before Something Goes Wrong

Why this matters

Regulators (NYDFS, OCC, CFPB, state DFSs, FCA, MAS) eventually visit. They issue Matters Requiring Attention (MRAs) or Matters Requiring Immediate Attention (MRIAs). The CISO + compliance officer who has met regulators before an incident handles them dramatically better than one meeting them during. Pre-engagement matters: voluntary briefings, attending industry working groups, responding to consultation papers.

Demo

Recommendation: introduce your CISO to your primary regulator within Year 1. Send a quarterly status update (4 pages, voluntary). Attend the regulator's industry days. When something goes wrong, you have a relationship + a goodwill bank to draw from. Cost is small (~10 hours/quarter); the alternative is meeting regulators only during an incident.

Try it yourself

1. Try to hack your readiness: simulate a regulator visit. Can you produce your information-security policy, your last SOC2 report, and your incident-response runbook in under 30 minutes?
2. Identify your primary US regulator (state DFS for money transmitters, OCC for nationally chartered banks, etc.). Find the examiner's name. Confirm your CISO knows them.
3. Read one NYDFS DFS-500 enforcement action (public). Note what triggered it — usually a missed requirement, not a breach.

References

• NYDFS — Enforcement Actions
• OCC — Regulatory Bulletins