AFM promotes better and proportionate regulation

For compliance teams, this is not a new rule or deadline but a strategic signal: the supervisor remains open to evidence-based simplification at national and EU level, including through cooperation with the Ministry of Finance. Firms should use this as a prompt to map overlapping, duplicative or low-value requirements, document where rule accumulation creates operational friction, and channel well-evidenced proposals through trade bodies or supervisory engagement. Cross-border firms should align Dutch, EU and UK simplification advocacy and monitor forthcoming consultations or burden-reduction packages.

The practical upside is potential reduction in duplicate reporting, clearer supervisory expectations and more efficient controls. The risk is complacency: burden relief is unlikely to be automatic, and simplification arguments must not compromise customer protection or market integrity. Compliance leaders should appoint an owner for regulatory efficiency, maintain a live inventory of burden hotspots, and track AFM and EU simplification developments.

No immediate remediation is required, but proactive engagement may help shape future requirements and reduce long-term compliance cost.