CMA publishes report on lessons learned review of Open Banking remedy

On 27 May 2022, the CMA published the final report of an independent review of the “lessons learned” review of the Open Banking remedy, which is part of the package of remedies introduced following the retail banking market investigation.

The review has found that the technical solutions to achieve the Open Banking remedy have and continue to be successfully implemented. However, the CMA did not fully anticipate the scale and complexity of its remedy and it failed to foresee some of the key risks inherent in the delivery of the project, particularly in relation to governance at the OBIE and relationships with key stakeholders. The review makes the following seven recommendations to the CMA:

• Build more effective Board oversight and risk management of the end-to-end strategy for complex remedies.
• Set out processes and governance for CMA Board and Executive oversight of the delivery and implementation of remedies.
• Consider questions relating to implementation at the remedies design phase.
• Ensure key factors are considered where a remedy establishes a new entity or large and enduring CMA function.
• Include gateways in the remedy delivery and implementation process.
• Implement effective and agile internal governance and stakeholder engagement in remedy delivery and implementation.
• Conduct an evaluation case study of complex market investigation remedies.

The CMA has committed to implementing these remedies and will publish a further update next year on its progress in implementing a work programme on remedies.