Our Focus On Global Competitiveness explores this critical topic with a formidable line up of speakers. Opening the event, Clive Horwood, Deputy CEO of OMFIF, discussed the findings of a recent LFF and OMFIF report on European Financial Services competitiveness. He emphasised certain factors that have played a role in hampering the growth of Europe’s financial services on a global stage, including a comparatively high regulatory burden, regional macroeconomic specificities, greater fragmentation of the European market compared to its peers, as well as a lower risk appetite among European investors. Nonetheless, areas of potential shine brightly, including sustainable finance and digitalisation, which were also delved into during the event.
Nicoletta Centofanti, CEO of the LSFI, and Hannes Huhtaniemi, Policy Officer at DG FISMA of the European Commission, highlighted the EU’s advancements in the area of sustainable finance, exploring the framework that has been put in place targeting investors, financial services firms, and portfolio companies as well as the changes that have recently been made, and challenges that remain, in this area following market feedback. Anthony Wolf, Partner of Banking, Insurance and Actuarial Services at SIA Partners, was on hand to examine the digital finance journey, exploring the need for a strong regulatory basis while ensuring it does not hamper the development and onboarding of new technologies within Europe’s financial services.