Consulting
Our Work
At Threadneedle Consulting, we don’t just advise — we partner with organisations to design, write, and embed practical solutions that stand up to regulatory scrutiny and work in day-to-day practice.
The examples below illustrate how we’ve helped clients across banking, financial services, and government to align with FCA and PRA expectations, strengthen governance, and deliver meaningful improvements.
Regulatory Gap Analysis for a Bank
Challenge: A mid-sized bank faced uncertainty around whether its policies and frameworks were fully aligned with FCA and PRA expectations, particularly on credit risk, lending authorities, and loan monitoring.
Approach: We carried out a structured regulatory gap analysis, reviewing policies, frameworks, and oversight processes against current FCA/PRA requirements and supervisory priorities for 2025. We redrafted key policies — including Credit Risk, Lending Authorities, and Watchlist/Non-Performing Loans — to become auditor and regulator-ready and user-friendly.
Outcome: The Board Risk Committee gained a clear roadmap of gaps and improvements, while new frameworks provided assurance to regulators and improved day-to-day usability for business teams.
ESG & Climate Risk Framework
Challenge: A commercial bank needed to strengthen its approach to climate risk and ESG, both to meet regulatory expectations and to respond to investor scrutiny.
Approach: We developed a comprehensive Climate Risk Framework, recast the Climate Risk Policy, and authored a Climate Scenarios Playbook for ICAAP and stress testing. We also established the bank’s first ESG function, including a cross-bank ESG Focus Group.
Outcome: The bank was able to demonstrate proactive alignment with PRA and FCA climate risk priorities, avoid potential greenwashing claims, and embed ESG responsibilities across first and second line teams.
Risk & Governance Transformation in a Government Body
Challenge: A national housing agency needed to improve oversight of large investment programmes and respond to a Treasury Spending Review that required stronger assurance and governance.
Approach: We designed and rolled out Integrated Approval & Assurance Plans (IAAPs), embedding checkpoints for risk, governance, and assurance. We led workshops to align cross-functional teams and introduced new decision-making frameworks that tied strategy to delivery.
Outcome: The agency successfully stood up new investment funds under a Target Operating Model that met government assurance requirements, while improving collaboration across risk, digital, compliance, and transformation teams.
AI Risk & Responsible Innovation
Challenge: A financial institution began deploying AI tools but lacked a framework to manage risks around ethics, accountability, and compliance.
Approach: We scoped and authored the organisation’s first AI Risk Policy, supported by practical guidance aligned to the EU AI Act and FCA/PRA expectations. The framework clarified accountability, set out governance, and defined principles for responsible use.
Outcome: The institution gained regulator-aligned assurance for its AI use and set a precedent for responsible innovation across its digital portfolio.
Risk Appetite Development for a Commercial Bank
Challenge: A bank needed to refresh its approach to risk appetite to better align with strategic objectives and strengthen oversight from the Board and regulators. Its existing framework lacked clarity and measurable indicators, making it difficult to link strategy, policy, and day-to-day decision-making.
Approach: We designed and implemented a comprehensive Risk Appetite Statement (RAS), articulating qualitative statements tied to the bank’s strategy and supported by quantitative metrics linked to early warning indicators and recovery planning. We also developed a framework for professional judgement overlays, enabling scenario-sensitive risk decision-making.
Outcome: The bank achieved a clear, Board-endorsed articulation of its risk appetite, embedded into policy and governance processes. Regulators gained greater assurance of alignment with PRA and FCA expectations, and management teams were equipped with practical tools to balance growth and risk.