Global regulators are set to sharpen their scrutiny of hedge funds, clearing houses and pension assets this year after a run of crises has shifted watchdogs’ focus towards risks outside the banking system. The disparate group, loosely defined as “non-bank financial institutions” by regulators, has been thrust into the spotlight after a series of market ructions over the past two years. “It’s different now,” Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, told reporters in mid-December as he spoke of the “urgent” need to escalate global policymakers’ long-running studies and recommendations on non-bank financials into swift global action.