A Starling Insights Deeper Dive Report

“Supervisors on Supervision” Final Report

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Starling has announced the publication of the Final Report in its “Supervisors on Supervision” Deeper Dive study, marking the culmination of a year-long global stocktaking effort that convened dozens of senior financial-sector supervisors worldwide. This landmark study brings together supervisory perspectives and industry feedback to define a practical path forward for culture risk governance and supervision.

This Final Report reflects a broad consensus that culture is now firmly within the supervisory field of vision — but that clearer frameworks and more disciplined approaches are needed to address it effectively. 

Despite this convergence, the study finds that key questions remain unresolved, including how culture should be defined, how related judgments should be evidenced, and how supervisory action can be made more consistent and explainable. The Final Report sets out a structured agenda and encourages G20 Finance Track ministers to consider these challenges and to advance the discussion from recognition to implementation.

In their Opening Letter, Study Chair Randal K. Quarles, former US Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair for Supervision and past Chair of the Financial Stability Board, and Starling Founder and CEO Stephen Scott emphasize the need to treat culture as a tractable supervisory problem. “If culture is to remain within the supervisory field of vision,” they write, “it must be approached in ways that are more intelligible, more evidence-led, and more capable of disciplined application.”

Sustained supervisory legitimacy, they add, will require clearer terms, stronger evidentiary foundations, and a willingness among supervisors to examine their own institutional cultures alongside those of the firms they oversee.

A Preamble to the Final Report from Tim Adams, President and CEO of the Institute of International Finance, underscores that effective supervision is a common interest and shared responsibility of public authorities and supervised firms. He notes, “high-quality supervision is a necessary public good,” and must remain risk-based, proportionate, and focused on the most material issues. “Supervisory approaches to culture should also be properly coordinated internationally and harmonized to the greatest extent possible,” he adds.

With the publication of this Final Report, Starling’s “Supervisors on Supervision” study lays the foundation for a coordinated global effort to modernize supervision, strengthen institutional resilience, and sustain trust in the financial system.