There’s some truth in this. Bosses tend to ask their staff rounds and rounds of questions to make a decision. (I believe the desire to adequately address bosses questions contributes to why some consultation responses can take 2-3 years to be ready, when industry is typically only allowed one month to provide views. Of course, those responsible would always be ready to justify their delay.)

Staff pass on all those questions, as and when they are asked, to the poor FI staff. Sometimes I wonder how regulators who have no robust financial ops background would survive if the FI provides them inadequate responses, especially on areas not mandated by legislation or other regulatory framework. Thankfully, the relationship between MAS and industry is mostly positive.