Regulatory and transparency environments and security concerns: A study involving global financial services institutions

This paper explores the relationships between contextual factors i.e. transparency and regulatory (legal) environments and security concerns (threats, risk, and vulnerabilities) in the financial services industry. The industry is chosen for illustration purposes and for its relevance in global economic development. The research uses a secondary data source, i.e. the 2009 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT) global security survey. The analysis found significant relationships between some of the perceptions of security concerns and the aforementioned contextual factors. The uncovered variations suggest that security concerns vary among Global Financial Services Institutions (GFSI) respondents across the different regions/countries of the world. This fact is at odds with the belief in the industry suggesting that entities in the financial services comply with similar standards and practices. This study highlights the relevance of regulatory and transparency environments in the assessment of security concerns in the financial services industry. Corporate managers may benefit from the information provided in the research. This particular effort also complements prior studies examining the nexus between contextual factors and security concerns.