Exclusive interviews and analysis from The Banker covering the latest trends and developments in financial services. Senior level banking experts share insights about capital markets, structured finance, risk management, transaction banking, ESG and green finance, trade and project finance, technology, and management and governance issues.

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Listen to our previous podcast, Banking under pressure

The Banker’s Asia editor Kimberley Long looks at the issues under discussion at the Asian Development Bank’s annual meeting in Incheon, South Korea, including the real impacts of  climate change and the state of the Asia-Pacific economy. 

Chapters 

Albert Park, chief economist, Asian Development Bank 

Seve Paeniu, minister of finance for Tuvalu

The Banker’s Burhan Khadbai speaks to Kirsty Morris, managing director, specialist sales and commercial strategy at Barclays and Sarah Courtney Dockett, senior private banker at Citi about their journeys in banking and challenges they faced.

The beginning of 2022 has been among the most turbulent in recent memory. Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, millions of people have fled the country. Alongside billions of dollars worth of damage in Ukraine, the war has caused global prices for everything from fuel to food to soar. Multilateral institutions have subsequently downgraded their economic forecasts for many countries around the world.

In this joint podcast from fDi Intelligence and The Banker, co-hosts Alex Irwin-Hunt and Burhan Khadbai discuss what is concerning policy-makers, bankers and investors most during this period of uncertainty. Based on conversations with attendees at the EBRD’s 2022 annual meeting and business forum held May 10-12 in Marrakech, Morocco, this podcast explores themes including the EBRD’s engagement in Morocco, the wide-ranging impacts of war in Ukraine and why the green transition must be inclusive.

Oscar Onyema, chief executive of the Nigerian Exchange Group, talks to The Banker's John Everington about the prospects for the Nigerian economy and its capital markets in 2022

Roland Brandli, strategic product manager at SmartStream, talks to The Banker’s Kimberley Long about if banks are ready to meet the ISO20022 deadline, and the importance proper data management. 

Peter Born, chief representative in Mumbai for Commerzbank, speaks to The Banker’s Kimberley Long about how India has supported its SME segment through the pandemic, and the country’s decision to opt out of RCEP. 

The UK is due to publish its green taxonomy - a classification system defining environmentally friendly activities - in the first quarter of 2022. Although it is expected to mirror the EU’s taxonomy there are suggestions it may diverge in certain areas. Claude Brown, partner at global law firm, Reed Smith, discusses expectations with Marie Kemplay, and what it could mean for broader EU-UK divergence in financial services.

Trade expenses are a significant outlay for investment banks, yet these costs are often overlooked. Daniel Carpenter, commercial lead and head of regulation at Meritsoft talks to Marie Kemplay about how banks can get on top of disparate data about these costs, and ultimately optimise their approach.

After Harvard's Kenneth Rogoff, Citi analysts are now also calling for the creation of a multilateral institution with the specific mandate of supporting developing economies transition to green. Leslie Maasdord, CFO of the New Development Bank – formed by some of those very emerging markets – thinks differently.

Steve Berkley, CEO of Bloomberg Index Services speaks to Marie Kemplay how financial index providers must continue to adapt against a backdrop of growing demands for more, and more varied data and the potential for market volatility.

Personal finance management can learn a lot from behavioural science, Henrik Rosvall and Elin Helander from Swedish fintech Dreams tell David Robinson. 

Sihem Mouelhi, chief product officer, and Ben Arber, head of US and Americas, at Elucidate, talk to The Banker’s Kimberley Long about how risk is currently being priced, and what can be done to make the process fairer.

Derivatives contracts contain a treasure trove of useful information. Brett Aubin, Head of Projects at Konexo, a data and technology-driven legal services provider from global law firm Eversheds Sutherland, talks to Marie Kemplay about how capturing and analysing this data can help to reduce systemic risk in the derivatives markets.

Communications surveillance is a fact of life for many financial firms, which need to comply with market abuse and financial crime regulation. But in an age where there has been a proliferation of different communications methods, and staff are often working away from the office, it has become increasingly challenging. Raj Bakhru, chief innovation officer at ACA Group, talks to Marie Kemplay about how the industry is managing these issues. 

Michael Rangel, CEO and co-founder, Novo, a US small business banking platform, talks to Joy Macknight about looking to reinvent banking for small businesses and how to deliver a hyper-personalised customer experience.

John Garvey, head of global financial services at PwC, tells The Banker’s Kimberley Long about how the pandemic has affected levels of borrowing in Asia, and what the region’s plans are for a return to the office.  

Claire Simm, head of financial services compliance and regulation at consultancy Kroll, talks with David Robinson about how financial crime is evolving in our increasingly digital world and the role technology can play in tackling the problem. 

John Meehan, partner at Arma Partners, speaks to The Banker’s Kimberley Long about rising levels of investment into the fintech sector, and which areas hold the most potential in the years to come.

Nancy Amert, director of CGI's Trade Innovation Lab, speaks with The Banker’s Kimberley Long about how the supply chain can be made sustainable, and what is motivating the banks to make their operations greener. 

Maria Shevchenko, a director of innovation at KPMG and Paul Henninger, an AI expert and head of KPMG’s Lighthouse, a global network of centres of excellence in data and analytics talk to Joy Macknight about how clients can draw valuable insights from external and internal data to unearth new business ideas, as well as better measure their ESG progress using existing data assets.

The primary bond markets have been slower to go digital than other areas, but, as Armin Peter, EMEA head of sustainable banking and global head of debt syndicate at UBS, discusses with Marie Kemplay, that is changing fast.

Against a backdrop of climate stress tests and pressure from a wide range of stakeholders, understanding and quantifying the amount of climate risk present in loan books is increasingly important for banks. David Glendinning, UK head of risk at Société Générale, discusses the key considerations and developments underway in this area with Marie Kemplay.

Maxim Safonov, co-CEO of BCS Global Markets, speaks to Marie Kemplay about the challenges and changes underway in the Russian financial markets, and what the opportunities are for investors and other stakeholders.

Richard Hummel, Asert threat intelligence lead, NetScout, a cybersecurity and network diagnostics firm, talks to Joy Macknight about its recent threat intelligence report, called ‘The Long Tail of Attacker Innovation’, which provides insight and analysis into the nature of distributed-denial-of-service attacks in the first half of 2021.

Ezequiel Szafir, CEO of Openbank, Santander’s digital bank, talks to Joy Macknight about the acceleration of digitisation during Covid-19, Openbank’s expansion plans and the role banks can play in the platform economy.

David Mercer, chief executive officer of the LMAX Group, speaks to James King about rising institutional interest in cryptocurrencies as a digital asset class, as well as the changing regulatory landscape for cryptocurrency markets around the world. 

TruEra's co-founder and CEO Will Uppington, and Shameek Kundu, head of financial services and senior strategy officer, talk to Joy Macknight about the European Commission’s new regulation around the use of AI, how the banking industry can help shape the legislation and avoiding the ‘black box’ conundrum.

The future of many banking products will rely heavily on hyper-personalisation, BlueShore Financial’s Reg Marrinier tells David Robinson. But as banks often hold huge stores of data and client histories, how can this best be activated the gain a competitive advantage?

Paul Taylor, global head of financial institutions for global transaction services at Bank of America, tells The Banker’s Kimberley Long the demands of FIs are changing, with an increased awareness of sustainability issues having an impact. 

Simon Bumfrey, head of relationship banking Europe at Silicon Valley Bank, speaks to The Banker’s Marie Kemplay about how the banking and funding needs of the innovation economy continue to evolve.

Ben Richmond, founder and chief executive of Cube, talks to James King about the challenges and opportunities involved with scaling a regtech business in the UK, as well as the need to harmonise global regulatory compliance standards. 

Umesh Gajria, global head of index linked products at Bloomberg, talks to The Banker’s Marie Kemplay about how US dollar Libor transition is reaching a crucial phase, and how more than alternative reference rate may be needed to accommodate market needs.  

Rick McDonell, the executive director of ACAMS, and Isabella Chase, research fellow at RUSI, talk to James King about the opportunities and risks posed by digital IDs in the realm of financial crime compliance, as well as their impact on the global financial inclusion agenda. 

Bank of America's global head of ESG, Andrew Plepler, tells Silvia Pavoni about the (now easier) challenges of his job and about the bank's commitment to supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals with a $1.5tn financing target by 2030.

As financial institutions grapple with digital transformation, Mike Kiersey, chief technology officer at Boomi, talks to The Banker’s David Robinson about the benefits of updating legacy enterprise resource planning systems.

Banks are under fire from all sides, Bhavin Turakhia, co-founder and CEO of banking technology firm Zeta, tells The Banker’s David Robinson. He outlines how technology can help reboot legacy modes of behaviour.

Eric Arnould, global head of equity capital markets at Natixis, discusses with The Banker’s Marie Kemplay why the wave of technology companies going public shows no signs of slowing down.

Incumbent banks around the world face an increasingly competitive marketplace. Alfred Escala Sisquellas, vice-president for financial services at IBM, discusses with The Banker’s David Robinson how cloud-based solutions might be used to address this. 

Silvia Mensdorff-Pouilly, head of banking solutions at FIS Europe, talks to The Banker's Joy Macknight about addressing fraud during the pandemic, how ESG initiatives, like green accounts, are a step in the right direction, and why the European Women Payments Network is important.

Nick Applebee, financial services consultant at Planixs, tells The Banker’s Kimberley Long instant payments are changing expectations on transactions, and what can be done to meet with the demands of the regulators.

Zeiad Idris, CEO of challenger bank Algbra, talks to The Banker's John Everington about offering sharia-compliant banking products outside the Middle East and southeast Asia, and how a digital offering can be used to target unreached market segments.

Paul Christensen, co-founder and chief executive of Previse, talks to James King about the key innovations that are shaping the future of B2B commerce, as well as the ESG implications of supporting small businesses through prompt payments.  

Money laundering remains a huge global problem. The UN estimates that between 2-5% of global GDP is laundered each year. The Banker’s David Robinson talks to Alexon Bell, co-founder and chief product officer at software firm Quantexa, on the role technology can play in tackling the problem.

Ransomware attacks have risen 20% over the last year at a time when digital banking has surged in popularity and customers are trusting banks with more and more data. Barry Cashman, regional vice president at Veritas Technologies, tells The Banker’s David Robinson how banks should contend with a growing ransomware threat.

Lee McDarby, CEO of UK international payments at Moneycorp, tells The Banker’s Kimberley Long how IBANs can help in banking, and what needs to be done to adapt to a high volatility FX environment. 

From the trade war between the US and China, to risks to the EU-China trade deal to the fallout from China’s new security law in Hong Kong, relations between China and the west have been deteriorating. The Banker’s David Robinson talks to Peter Lu, who heads Baker McKenzie’s China practice in the UK, about what it might mean for global banks.

Tarek El-Yafi, managing director of transaction banking at Standard Chartered, talks to The Banker’s Kimberley Long about how the pandemic accelerated the need for digital payments in Asia and beyond, and what US corporates can do to tap the Asian markets.

Stefanos Papapanagiotou, head of financial institutions group at UBS, talks to The Banker’s Marie Kemplay about the challenges and opportunities for Europe’s banks as they seek to change the narrative, following several years of constrained profitability.

Kim Hochfeld, global head of cash business, State Street Global Advisors, talks to The Banker's Joy Macknight about the market volatility in March 2020 that made the US regulators revisit money market fund (MMF) rules. What is needed to “fix” MMFs?

Tom Merry, managing director for banking strategy, at Accenture discusses with David Robinson how he believes we are moving from the ‘era of divergence’ to an ‘era of convergence’ in consumer everyday banking.

There have been plenty of false dawns in the development of hydrogen technology. Allan Baker, global head of power, advisory and project finance at Societe Generale talks to Marie Kemplay about why this time is different and how to ensure this vital area of research and development gets the financing it needs.

Dean Wallace, director of consumer payments modernisation at ACI Worldwide, talks to James King about the key trends that are shaping the future of Europe's payments landscape. 

Claude Brown, Libor specialist at international law firm, Reed Smith, speaks to Marie Kemplay about progress on Libor transition in Sterling markets and internationally, following a key milestone at the end of March, with a regulatory ban on new Sterling Libor issuance.

Jerry Norton, head of strategy, financial services at CGI, which provides IT and business consulting services, talks to The Banker's Joy Macknight about the major trends in banking over the next three to five years, and whether sustainability will change the banking world.

Louise Lunn, head of global analytics delivery organisation at Fico, a global analytics software company, talks to The Banker's Joy Macknight about how Covid is affecting the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in financial services and provides insight for women who want to join the AI industry.

Kieran Donoghue, global head of strategy, public policy and international financial services at IDA Ireland, speaks to James King about Dublin's future as a financial services hub in light of the UK's exit from the European Union. 

Manoj Mistry, managing director at IBOS Association, tells The Banker’s Kimberley Long how banks in Asia are adapting to a range of challenges, from the expansion of the capital markets to fighting climate change. 

Joe Channer, CEO of Delta Capita, which provides global managed services, technology solutions and consulting, talks to The Banker's Joy Macknight about the biggest challenges that small and mid-sized banks face today, what is driving investment in the financial services supply chain and his social enterprise project Storm LDN.

Samir Pandiri, president of Broadridge International, talks to The Banker's Joy Macknight about challenges and market turmoil at the beginning of the pandemic, and how banks have survived throughout the past year.

Vince Graziani, CEO of IDEX Biometrics, talks to The Banker’s Kimberley Long about the development of biometrics in the payments space, and how they can help to make payments more secure for consumers.

Kate Willard, Estuary envoy and chair of the Thames Estuary Growth Board, talks to James King about the role that the Thames Estuary will play in driving long-term and sustainable economic growth in the UK, as the country looks to a future beyond the EU.

Kelvin Phua, global head of payment networks at PPRO, explains to The Banker’s Kimberley Long how payments in Asia have continued to evolve during the pandemic, with consumers becoming more demanding in their expectations around payment options.

Cedric Merle, head of the centre of expertise and innovation within Natixis’s Green and Sustainable Hub, talks to The Banker’s Marie Kemplay about prospects for green and social bond issuance in 2021, including how the “social recovery” and the transition needs of higher-emitting sectors will both drive activity.

The UAE fined 11 banks $12.5m in January over their failure to tackle money laundering. David Robinson, online editor at The Banker, speaks with Sam Eastwood and Chris Chapman from law firm Mayer Brown about how the global fight against illicit finance is changing and what this means for banks.

The way banks handle the complaints process is vital to customer satisfaction and retention, Ben Garratt, director of retail banking at consultancy Huntswood tells David Robinson, online editor at The Banker. 

Mark Kruger, senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, talks to The Banker’s Kimberley Long about the speed of China’s recovery from the pandemic, and if rising debt levels in the country are a cause for concern.

Amir Nooriala, chief commercial officer at Callsign, which is focused on digital identity, authentication and authorisation, talks to The Banker's Joy Macknight about the full costs associated with fraud and using behavioral authentication for Payment Services Directive 2 compliance.

Igal Rotem, CEO of Credorax, speaks to The Banker’s Kimberley Long about how the ecommerce sector has thrived during the pandemic, but has forced rapid changes in the back office to keep pace. 

Simon Hurry, group partner at law firm Collas Crill, discusses the outlook for offshore insolvency proceedings in light of the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Rohinton Medhora, president of the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a think tank on global governance, talks to The Banker's Joy Macknight about how greater digitalisation in the financial sector is intersecting with gaps in global governance in data.

Kelvin Lei, CEO and co-founder of Aqumon, and Don Huang, head of quantitative research and co-founder of Aqumon, explain to The Banker’s Kimberley Long how algorithms and robo advisors are being used for investing, and what benefits this method can bring to customers. 

Emma Reynolds, managing director for public affairs, policy and research at TheCityUK, an advocacy group for the UK financial services industry, talks to The Banker's Joy Macknight about what the Brexit deal means for financial and related professional services, and why services, rather than goods, be prioritised in future trade negotiations.

Elizabeth Gillam, head of EU government relations and public policy at Invesco, speaks to The Banker’s Marie Kemplay about post-Brexit banking and sustainable finance, two key issues on the European financial services agenda for 2021.

Likhit Wagle, general manager of global banking and financial markets at IBM, talks to The Banker's Joy Macknight about the main trends emerging in 2021, how banks are rethinking their digital footprint and whether embedded finance is the future of banking.

Tomer Guriel, co-founder and CEO of ezbob, talks to The Banker’s Kimberley Long about how SME lending may change in the future, and how digital transformation will progress this.