Thistle Initiatives, a leading financial services compliance firm, has strengthened its Risk & Resilience division with the launch of its new Risk Management as a Service (RMaaS) package.
Designed for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the modular RMaaS solution offers tailored risk management support without the cost of an in-house team. The service enables businesses to proactively manage risks while accessing expert guidance from seasoned professionals.
With significant new requirements for operational resilience, third-party risk management, and incident reporting, both regulated and non-regulated financial services businesses face a strong imperative to align governance, risk and data control and reporting frameworks with regulatory expectations. “Even well-established businesses can struggle to command the ramifications, and for many SME financial service businesses, the unrelenting risk complexity can prove exhausting, costly and overwhelming. Seeking outside expertise can be the answer”, says Lorraine Mouat, Partner at Thistle Initiatives.
With a wealth of experience in risk and compliance and a seasoned team of experienced industry professionals, Thistle’s RMaaS solution enables both regulated and non-regulated businesses to complete or build their strategic and operational risk management frameworks. They can access on-demand expertise from risk experts in multiple sectors, whilst at the same time avoiding the high costs of maintaining an in-house risk team.
Thistle’s RMaaS offering includes services across Risk Analysis, Monitoring, Compliance, Mitigation and Reporting, with a modular and scalable approach. Capabilities include Risk Gap Analysis, Ongoing Risk Monitoring, Internal Risk Data Updates, Board and Risk Committee Reporting, Risk Governance, Risk Awareness Workshops to train teams to proactively manage risks, and Scenario Testing simulating potential risks and testing resilience.
With ample experience in financial services compliance, risk management, and regulatory oversight, Thistle supports clients across the spectrum of financial services, including payment services, fintech, crypto and digital assets, consumer lending, and neo-banking, as well as non-regulated businesses launching embedded payments and embedded financial services. The company’s recent risk management projects have included early stage fintechs, high-growth scaleups, as well as established companies.
“Financial services businesses navigate in a complex risk landscape, marked by layers of technicality, and rapidly evolving requirements in governance, compliance, data, and cybersecurity, to name but a few. Even minor oversights can prove critical, especially as businesses are increasingly bound by technological interdependencies, third-party relationships, systemic vulnerabilities and increasing regulatory focus on operational resilience. Our risk management teams enable businesses at any growth stage to take full control of their risk framework, ensuring transparency, strong oversight and compliance while enhancing resilience and operational stability”, adds Lorraine Mouat.
Founded in 2012, Thistle Initiatives have worked with over 1000 firms within the financial services sector, providing support with FCA Authorisations, Acquisition Due Diligence, Audits, Supervision and Enforcement, Financial Crime and Fraud Prevention, as well as ongoing compliance advice, guidance and support, in sectors including Investments, Payment Services, Credit, Mortgages, Digital Assets and General Insurance.