Banking Risk & Regulation Podcast

The European Securities and Markets Authority has a broad remit bringing it into contact with many areas of financial markets, at the wholesale and retail level. In this episode of GRR’s regulatory podcast series, Verena Ross, chair of ESMA provides insights into the authority’s work around: ESG and curbing greenwashingAnalysing and collecting markets data relating to regulations such as MiFID Challenges around implementing and future proofing DORA and MiCAThe Benchmarks Regulation and its impact on third country benchmark providersFinancial stability and the role of non-financial bank intermediation ESMA’s work with third country regulators and global standard setters The biggest challenges facing securities regulators over the next five years 

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could usher in a revolution in the financial system creating openings for exciting new innovations. However, depending on their design, CBDCs could be disruptive, particularly for deposit taking banks. The European Central Bank is currently studying designs for a potential digital euro. This has ignited a lively debate within policy making and banking circles. In this podcast, Ulrich Bindseil, director general of market infrastructure and payments at the ECB, gives his take on some of the big issues surrounding a digital euro.  Topics covered include: Status of the ECB’s workFinancial stability considerationsGeopolitical role of the digital EuroDesign considerations Privacy Legal tender questions Alternatives to a digital euro Programmability 

Stablecoins have seen explosive growth in the last year with the Bank for International Settlements estimating that as of late 2021, there were $120bn of them in circulation.This has caught the attention of regulators who are pondering whether these instruments will revolutionize finance in a beneficial way for society or could become a major financial systemic threat.To address those issues is Dante Disparte, chief strategy officer and head of global policy at Circle - an issuer of the USDC dollar stablecoin.

According to the Bank for International Settlements around 80 central banks are exploring or developing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Some experts consider CBDCs to be among one of the most significant developments in the history of money. Depending on their design they could have a profound impact on the financial system and society. This podcast explores a range of issues related to CBDCs, such as their design, should they be programmable, disintermediation of financial institutions, potential threats from stablecoins through to concerns around privacy. Addressing those questions are John Velissarios Blockchain and Multiparty Systems - Digital Assets, Custody & CBDC Lead at Accenture and Kimmo Soramäki, founder & CEO at FNA who has worked for a number of central banks. 

The rise of blockchain and crypto assets are going to profoundly influence the future development of financial services and are naturally of great interest to supervisors. How supervisors decide to regulate crypto will in itself play a major role in how traditional financial services adapt to this new phenomenon. This episode looks at the approaches being taken in the EU, UK, US and some other jurisdictions and how it might impact the transition of crypto into mainstream finance. It also looks at how the recent consultation by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on the prudential treatment of crypto exposures will influence banks. Exploring these issues is Yves Longchamp, head of research at SEBA Bank, a Swiss bank providing a bridge between traditional and digital assets and Lavan Thasarathakumar, the regulatory affairs director EMEA at Global Digital Finance, an association advocating for digital assets.

Environmental, social governance (ESG) factors and the rapid rise of crypto assets and currencies and blockchain have all become major focal points for supervisors. This is necessitating, in some cases, new regulatory frameworks or adapting existing ones. In this episode, Bryan Stirewalt, the CEO of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) shares his insights into how the authority is approaching the regulation of crypto and he also delves into how the global adoption of ESG can be encouraged in a more standardised fashion.Other topics covered include the DFSA’s work with international standard setters such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision where Mr Stirewalt represents non-Committee members.