Andra Sonea, lead solutions architect with the Innovation & Digital Analytics Lab at Lloyds Banking Group in London, maintains that an industry that enables competition and economic development does not need a “sandbox intervention.” Competition and collaboration within financial services should be the norm.

Adizah Tejani, head of ecosystem development at Level39, discusses the role of the technology accelerator in the growth of fintech start-ups, which, like banks, have aspirations to become global.

Neal Cross, the chief innovation officer of DBS Bank discusses how the bank’s accelerator for start-ups has transformed its culture.

David Puth, Chief Executive Officer at CLS, welcomes the Bank of Korea’s call to expand protection from settlement risk in foreign exchange and highlights the efficiency and operational benefits of CLS to non bank financial institutions.

An anti-money laundering law that did not cover casinos. A weekend and a holiday in the targeted banks in at least three countries. A Swift system that worked. And human slip-ups that rang alarm bells but also consummated the biggest documented cyber heist and money laundering in the Philippines.

Finance has failed because of its self-referential world where people are merely trading existing assets, rather than creating new assets. And regulation is failing by making things ever more complex and less related to the real interests of the public. Author and economist John Kay says regulation of banking is not about writing more rules but changing the structure of the industry.

Chris Skinner, founder of the Financial Services Club in Europe, and writer of Value Web and The Digital Bank, mouths the words banks fear the most: think of the future as one where traditional products make no money. That’s exactly what the P2P lenders are doing—squeezing margins of banks hobbled by traditional structures and products, forcing them to make money other ways.

Vincent Lo, chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, says as China transforms, restructures, and rebalances its economy, slowing down has become a necessity. Its Belt and Road is a golden opportunity for Hong Kong to be an investment, financing, and professional services centre for companies wanting to invest in the initiative.

The Governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, His Excellency Mubarak Rashed Al Mansoori discusses the transformation of the UAE Central Bank under its new Medium-Term Plan. Among others, the Central Bank will focus on SMEs and the private sector in line with the government’s thrust to move the economy away from dependence on oil production.

Mashreq Bank CEO Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair talks about his focus on innovation, support of SMEs, and customer centricity; and the bank’s emphasis on growth within the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Innovations emerging from East and West African banking hubs are enabling the sector to take a lead in reaching Africa’s unbanked population but much remains to be done.

Banks face high costs of maintaining extensive branch networks while having their market share eroded by the ever-growing presence of payments solutions companies and mobile operators providing low-cost alternatives.

The industry has to look beyond growing their market presence through traditional brick-and-mortar branches by exploring new channels like mobile banking and agency collaborations.

Alex Thursby, group CEO of NBAD, highlights the importance of liquidity as he discusses the bank’s new customer-focused strategy.

CEO Tirad Al-Mahmoud discusses his vision of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank as a top-tier transaction banking institution as the industry evolves and seeks new sources of growth.