Under Zeti Akhtar Aziz’s leadership, Bank Negara Malaysia has reinforced itself as an independent and respected regulatory authority, putting in place significant measures to ensure the stability of the country’s financial institutions. Her achievements have set a high-water mark for all leaders who will be put in a similar position of trust around the world.

Finally, after many false starts and empty declarations, China seems to be powering ahead with its financial liberalisation and lowering the barriers of entry for foreign companies in the financial sector. Has the threat of a trade war with the US pushed the Chinese into finally getting serious about opening up or is this just more posturing?

With data becoming the new oil in the digital economy, what level of individual data protection is adequate without unnecessarily stymying business and commerce?

Kartik Athreya, executive vice present and director of research of Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the third largest in the US, discusses banking deregulation, the importance of the Living Will and financial innovation.

Digital disruption is rapidly changing the competitive and operating landscape and driving institutions and regulators to adopt opening banking strategies and create API enabled IT architectures.

Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web and opening keynote speaker at The Future of Finance Summit 2018 from 23rd to 25th May in China, believes that the Web’s survival as a free and inclusive platform is being threatened by tech companies and businesses whose interest are misaligned with online users.

Warren Hayashi, president of Adyen Asia Pacific, a global payments platform, talks about how the company differs from its competitors in the market, the role of consumer experience, and its unified commerce solution.

Amol Bahuguna, head of payments and cash management, institutional and transaction banking, Commercial Bank of Dubai, shares the three key growth enablers of domestic banks’ cash management and payment business.

Madhivanan Balakrishnan, chief technology and digital officer, ICICI Bank, explains the impact of going digital on branch banking, how robotic process automation improves internal processes, and the bank’s digital plans.

The Facebook - Cambridge Analytica data scandal revealed key issues in data privacy, management and regulation that players in the financial services industry should be aware of.

Deutsche Bank tries to regain its lost ground after internal issues and consecutive losses plagued the bank.

China recently merged its banking and insurance regulators under the leadership of Guo Shuqing to enhance cross-sector regulation

Singapore’s start-up economy and innovative financial system have cultivated the peer-to-peer lending industry in the country. With more players coming into the scene, Funding Societies aims to differentiate itself through data analytics and technology.

A joint venture with the private investment office of Sheikh Ahmed Bin Obaid Al Maktoum was established to market and sell physical diamonds, precious gems as well as private blockchain technology based digital assets.

New technologies, closer attention to user experience and increasing awareness for industry collaboration will push other countries to adopt cashless payments.