Nickolas Reinhardt, Director, Afore Consulting

• Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, European Commission
• Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB)
• Merel van Vroonhoven, Chair, Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets
• Paul Stoddart, CEO, Vocalink, a Mastercard company

EU supervisors are exploring how to deal with FinTech in their respective jurisdictions. This raises questions about supervisory convergence and best practice. Within the context of a Single Market this creates opportunities to test different supervisory approaches but it also could lead to distortive effects. Sand boxes have opened the way in some Member States to take a targeted and proportionate approach to regulation. How could supervisory cooperation be best achieved? What role is there for the ESAs to foster cooperation or should this better be left to international organisations, such as the Basel Committee or IOSCO? Is effective supervisory cooperation a substitute to new regulation? Is the current regulatory framework in financial services technology neutral and future proof?

Moderator: Sean Marion, Managing Director, Financial Institutions Group, Moody’s Investors Service

Speakers:

• Peter Kerstens, Adviser, DG FISMA, European Commission and Co-Chair of the FinTech Task Force, European Commission
• Gerry Cross, Director of Policy and Risk, Central Bank of Ireland
• René Plank, Deputy Head of Unit Antitrust: Payment Systems, DG COMP, European Commission
• Cătălin Sorin Ivan, Member of the European Parliament
• Cristina Sofia Dias, ‎Secretary General and Advisor to the Board, CMVM
• Anke Klein, Project Manager Innovation and FinTech, De Nederlandsche Bank

The potential of applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence is enormous. From robo-advice to the surveillance of financial markets to fraud prevention tools, these technologies help reduce costs and bring value to the customer, user and regulators of  these services.

• How do existing regulations need to be adapted to reflect these trends and changing interaction with customers and other stakeholders?
• How can AI and ML be used more generally as an effective analytical tool?
• Will supervisors have the means to oversee decisions take based on AI?
• How is the industry thinking about the application and the exchange of views and best-practice with regulators going forward? 

Moderator: Michael Townsend, Vice President, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Charles Schwab Corporation

Speakers:

• Joachim Wuermeling, Board Member, Deutsche Bundesbank
• Mady Delvaux, Member of the European Parliament
• Katja Würtz, Head of Consumer Protection, European Insurance and Occupational Pension Authority
• Bob Ferguson, Head of Department, Strategy & Competition Division, Financial Conduct Authority
• Abdalla Kablan, Advisor on DLT, AI and IOT, Parliamentary Secretariat for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation, Malta
• Jon Zieger, General Counsel, Stripe
• Tony Sio, Head of Exchange & Regulator Surveillance, Market Technology, Nasdaq

• Olli Rehn, Member of the Board of the Bank of Finland and Chair of the FIN-FSA, and former Vice-President and Member of the European Commission
• Jean Paul Servais, Chair of the Belgium Financial Services and Markets Authority and the Chairman of the Financial Innovation Standing Committee of ESMA
• Hon. Silvio Schembri, Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation, Government of Malta

• Andrea Enria, Chair, European Banking Authority
• Steven Maijoor, Chair, European Supervisory and Markets Authority

FinTech applications are developing at an ever faster pace. Any of these applications potentially challenge the tradition approach to regulation based on national jurisdictions and enforcement. FinTech is increasing the need for international regulatory and supervisory cooperation. The panel will discuss how supervisors in different parts of the world are addressing these challenges.

• How are supervisors in different  parts of the world addressing these challenges?
• How do they seek to find a balance between safety and stability of financial services on the one hand, and the need for innovation and realising the full potential of FinTech on the other?

Moderator:

• Richard Nash, Head of Global Government Relations, PayPal

Speakers: 

• Rupert Schaefer, Head of Strategic Services, Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority
• Director for Systematically Important Financial Institutions, Banks Division I, Supervisory Bureau
• Yao Loong Ng, Head of Markets Policy and Infrastructure, Monetary Authority of Singapore
• Clara Chiu, Director, Licensing, Intermediaries Division, Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong
• Fabian Vandenreydt, Executive Director, B-Hive
• Paul Atkins, Chief Executive, Patomak Global Partners LLC and former SEC Commissioner – Co-Chair, Token Alliance

Common standards help to reduce costs and potentially allow new entrants to easily enter the Single Market. They can also address new challenges presented by developing technologies, such as the risks associated with ICOs recently identified by both the EU and international regulators. These should also take into consideration calls from the industry for regulators to coordinate their message on ICOs. However, there are also downsides to common standards. Standards can inadvertently give preference to some technologies over others hindering their innovation.

• Where should  standards be set for the FinTech sector?
• How does the EU ensure the standard setting process fosters competition, is transparent and open for all participants?
• The conditions for access have to be fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory. Should we aim for EU or international standards?

Moderator: 

• Werner Bijkerk, Partner, Simplexxis and former Head of Research Department, IOSCO

Speakers:

• Aija Zitcere, Deputy Director, Financial Markets Policy Department, Ministry of Finance, Latvia
• Peteris Zilgalvis, Head of Unit, Start-ups and innovation, Digital Single Market, DG CONNECT, European Commission and Co-Chair of the FinTech Task Force of the European Commission
• Patrick Armstrong, Senior Risk Analysis Officer, Innovation and Products Team, ESMA
• Ashley Fox, Member of the European Parliament
• Simon Maisey, Managing Director, Global Head of Business Development, Tradeweb
• Jonathan Haynes, Senior Consultant, Oxera

New technologies can contribute to the effective compliance and enforcement of financial services regulation. RegTech has the potential of costs and increasing effectiveness. Many of its benefits arise from the possibility of financial services companies using specialised third parties and in pooling data and resources.

• Are regulators and supervisors equipped for these new models of outsourcing and data sharing?  
• How do supervisors respond to sensitive issues, such as data processing, data standardisation, ownership and security standards?
• Is there a trade-off between open standards and confidentiality?
• What opportunities can data sharing bring for KYC?
• What role is there for Distributed Ledger Technology and how should regulators oversee these technologies?

Moderator: 

• Kirston Winters, Managing Director, Co-head of Product Management for MarkitSERV, IHS Markit

Speakers:

• Pierre Bienvenu, FinTech Expert and Head of International Relations, l’Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution
• Carmine di Noia, Commissioner, CONSOB
• Che Sidanius, Global Head of Financial Crime & Industry Affairs, Thomson Reuters
• Hartwig Gerhartinger, Vice President, Legal and Regulatory, Deputy General Counsel, Paysafe Group
• Chloe MacEwen, Vice Chair of the Board, European Payments institutions Federation and Vice President Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Western Union
• Luukas Ilves, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, The Lisbon Council

Closing Remarks 

• Lisa Hunt, Chair, SIFMA and Executive Vice President, Business Initiatives, Charles Schwab Corporation
• Johan Van Overtveldt, Belgian Finance Minister

Closing 

• Nickolas Reinhardt, Director, Afore Consulting