Less than half of financial services firms in the UK have started preparing for the new data protection rules which come into force in a year’s time – despite 12 per cent admitting that the maximum fine for non-compliance would force them out of business and nine per cent saying it would lead to large scale redundancies.

According to a YouGov survey of 285 financial services firms commissioned by law firm Irwin Mitchell, only 56 per cent of respondents were aware of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force on 25 May 2018.

Under the new EU rules, the maximum fine for certain data breaches in the UK will rise from £500,000 to €20 million or four per cent of global turnover, whichever is larger. Four in 10 surveyed firms were unaware of the new fines, while 19 per cent wrongly claimed that GDPR was not relevant to their business as they are not a consumer business.

Joanne Bone, partner and data protection expert at Irwin Mitchell, said: “These results are concerning because with next May’s deadline fast approaching and with so much at stake, our study reveals there is a very real possibility that a large number of financial services companies will not be compliant in time.

“Contrary to popular belief, personal data is not just consumer information. It is hard to think of a business today that does not use personal data. Whether you have employee data, customer data or supplier data – if the data relates to an individual you will be caught by the new data protection laws.”

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