Frankfurt, December 16, 2020 – This year's RegTech Convention took place on November 25 and 26, 2020 under the motto "RegTech Connects" - for the first time as a virtual live event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, this year's conference saw a total of around 1,200 attendees from over 80 countries - more than ever before. The two-day conference is considered as one of the most important industry gatherings in the financial world.

This year, together with high-ranking representatives of banks, supervisory authorities and regulators, the new phase of innovation in regulation was discussed. Given the economic environment, digital transformation and geopolitical risks, all market participants saw a need for a reconsideration of the existing system. At the RegTech Convention, promising approaches were presented and discussed, and innovative technologies and new models of cooperation were outlined. 

The Banking Conference on the first day of the 27th RegTech Convention included keynotes from supervisory authorities and panel discussions on current regulations and standards. The focus was also on technological topics such as data integration, RegOps, outsourcing and blockchain. In the concurrent topic-specific conferences and in breakout sessions, current developments in RegTech, RiskTech and SupTech were discussed.

On the second day of the 27th RegTech Convention, the focus was on product topics. Throughout the day, the most important developments in BearingPoint RegTech's product and service portfolio were presented and an outlook on planning for the coming year was given. In practice-oriented breakout sessions relevant topics from the areas of regulatory reporting, RegTech, SupTech, tax reporting and risk management were discussed.

Exciting theses from high-profile keynote speakers

Among the highlights of this year's RegTech Convention were certainly the three keynote speakers on the first conference day. 

Professor Dr. Joseph Stiglitz, winner of the Nobel Prize in economics and chief economist at the Roosevelt Institute, was the first keynote speaker. He looked at the global economic and financial markets, particularly against the background of the COVID-19 crisis. Prof. Stiglitz considers the supervisory system as a whole in a much stronger position than during the global financial crisis in 2008, but from a systemic point of view this is yet not sufficient.

Prof. Stiglitz

We have not yet achieved full harmonization for global financial market stability. I hope for more global cooperation, especially from the newly elected U.S. government. At the same time, progress in digitization is needed. The use of real-time data could make our financial systems more stable and resilient for the future and strengthen financial supervision.

Prof. Joseph Stiglitz

Prof. Stiglitz, on the other hand, is rather skeptical about the revolution through digital currencies: "Crypto-currencies pose a threat to global financial stability. They threaten to undermine decades of efforts to increase transparency in the global financial system.

Jean-Claude Juncker, former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, and President of the European Commission from 2014-2019, highlighted the European perspective on the banking system and the economy. In essence, Mr. Juncker fears negative consequences from the COVID 19 crisis with a sharp increase in unemployment and a significant economic slowdown in Europe.

Jean-Claude Juncker

Across Europe, public debt is increasing. There must be no helicopter money, but the money must be spent carefully considered. It is important here to invest above all in research and development and to push the digital agenda further. At the same time, we must step up our efforts in climate protection, because the climate crisis will continue to exist even after Corona.

Jean-Claude Juncker

Mr. Juncker also considers the deepening of economic and monetary union as one of the key challenges in the coming years. "We must finally conclude the banking and capital market union. This is crucial for the future of Europe."

In a third keynote, Dr. Jörg Kukies, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance, addressed the lessons that the supervisory authorities are learning from the COVID-19 crisis and the extent to which this year can be considered as a  catalyst for financial market regulation.

Dr. Jörg Kukies

Much of what we see now would have been unthinkable a year ago. What is quite often underestimated, for example, is the fact that we have become active in loan guarantees. In this way, we are making an important contribution to maintaining the economy and are regarded as a model for other EU member states.

Dr. Jörg Kukies

For the future, Dr. Kukies sees innovative regulatory and supervisory initiatives as the main drivers. "We will create an option for the full digitalization of the bond markets through new legislative proposals." For Mr. Kukies, crypto currencies are also an interesting addition to the financial system. He also addressed the topic of Basel III, promising to have found a balance for implementation together with the French government. While keeping a firm focus on the goals, he also hopes to alleviate the negative effects of Basel III on the capital markets - particularly during the economic recovery from the Corona crisis.

Panel discussions: A look into the future

The three keynotes were followed by a series of panel discussions with speakers from the industry, politics and finance on current standards and trends in regulation. The following topics, among others, were discussed in more detail:  

  • How does the COVID-19 crisis affect financial market regulation and what will be the "new normal"?
  • How can we safeguard financial stability while ensuring the efficiency, effectiveness, and proportionality of financial supervision?
  • How important are digital innovations, and what is the role of financial market policy?
  • Push vs. Pull: The agile future of data management & data governance
  • RegOps: From a regulatory "waterfall" approach to Regulatory Operations (RegOps)
  • Integrated regulatory reporting as the future of regulation
  • Regulation as a cost factor: High complexity and frequency of regulatory changes

Recording available on-demand

All panel discussions and presentations are available on-demand on the virtual event platform until December 26, 2020. To access the virtual event platform,  please use the following link: https://reg.ubivent.com/register/regtech-convention-en. Please log in with your e-mail address and the password you chose during registration process.

Save the date: RegTech Convention 2021

We would already like to invite you to the next RegTech Convention. The 28th RegTech Convention will take place on November 23-24, 2021. Further information about the RegTech Convention can be found here.

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