Sovereignty raises debate and there is a wide divergence in the way to deal with that topic. The current debate in Europe on the EU Cloud Services (EUCS) High+ criteria is an illustration of the diverse positions existing in that...
Cloud computing has been with us for over 15 years, but we have barely scratched the surface of its potential.[1] Industry Cloud Platforms (ICPs) are cloud-based solutions targeting the specific needs of industry verticals that generic and traditional solutions do...
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published the final texts of the DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) regulation in July. These definitive texts will come into effect in January 2025, enhancing digital operational resilience and IT risk management for all financial...
In the ongoing digitalisation of the banking sector and the rapid growth of financial technology, banks increasingly rely on third-party service providers (TPSPs), including for some of their critical functions. This dependency introduces significant risks, as banks do not always...
Traditional methods of tackling financial crime are no longer effective in a world where bad actors use increasingly sophisticated techniques to exploit weaknesses in financial crime controls. With the establishment of a new European regulator, embedding the latest AI-enabled solutions...
In today's dynamic financial landscape, cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology have taken centre stage, attracting both enthusiasts and sceptics. The volatility and potential of digital assets prompt questions about their evolving positions in the traditional financial market. While the promise...
The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in financial services continues to exercise C-suite minds. Not least, how to balance AI's benefits to enhance the customer experience and improve back-office operations with the ethical challenges that AI presents. Sparking the debate...
The financial services sector is increasingly looking to technology to help tackle the rising levels of regulation they face. According to the latest Forvis Mazars C-Suite Barometer, the prominence of new technology as a global trend is on the rise...
As financial services organisations increasingly focus on digital transformation, having the right expertise and skillsets is critical. However, it’s not simply a question of human capital. It requires developing a talent strategy that recognises the profound impact technology will have...
Digital transformation now tops the C-Suite agenda of financial services organisations. According to the latest Forvis Mazars C-Suite Barometer, one-third of respondents identified the need to transform company IT as a strategic priority ahead of issues such as sustainability initiatives. While...
Optimism in the financial services sector is riding high. According to the latest Forvis-Mazars C-Suite Barometer, 94% of financial services respondents say they're growing, which is five points higher than the global average and up overall from 92% last year....
Operational resilience is the ability of firms to prepare for, prevent, adapt and respond to, recover and learn from operational disruption. It is a complex and multi-faceted challenge for cross-border banks to prepare for and respond to. This is because...
Financial institutions are faced with several challenges: strong economic pressure, regulatory changes, evolving customer expectations, punctuated by strong competition from fintechs and insurtechs; which rely natively on emerging technologies to offer best-in-class services. To meet these challenges and stand out...
Africa's economic potential is hindered by the pervasive presence of illicit financial flows (IFFs), fraud, and corruption, which not only strip the continent of vital resources but also obstruct its path towards sustainable development. The staggering annual loss of $88.6...
We have identified and ranked the key risks for financial services business leaders in 2024 based on market research, regulatory insights as well as our assessment of the current difficulties facing firms. We discuss in this article the key takeaways...
We have identified and ranked the key risks for financial services business leaders in 2024 based on market research, regulatory insights as well as our assessment of the current difficulties facing firms. We also highlight the changes in risk rankings...
In the contemporary landscape of insurance, the business model of open insurance, characterised by the strategic opening of insurers' resources to external collaborators, has been a focal point of discussion. Unlike the banking sector, where regulatory mandates such as the...
Mazars recently hosted a Financial Services INED Roundtable Dining Event in Dublin[1]. Over 50 financial services independent non-executive directors (INEDs) attended, from banking, asset management, funds and insurance entities operating across the EU and UK. The roundtable focussed on the...
Last October, the European Central Bank (ECB) initiated the preparation phase of the Digital Euro project, following two years of investigation and a proposal on the establishment of a digital euro published by the European Parliament (EP) in June 2023. In...
The European Central Bank (ECB) issued the SSM supervisory priorities for the 2024-2026 cycle on 19 December 2023. They sum up what institutions under the direct supervision of the ECB should expect in terms of areas of supervision, in 2024...
DORA is a legislative proposal that aims to improve the digital operational resilience and ensure the performance and stability of the financial system of the member countries of the European Union in the face of the risks associated with ICT...
The Single Resolution Board (SRB) convened its annual conference on 13 February 2024 with a theme highlighting the focus for the year: ‘The road ahead: risk, readiness and resilience’. While significant strides have been made with the EU banking resolution...
On 29 June 2023, the European Union’s (EU) Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) entered into force. It is being implemented in stages depending on the provisions, between June and December 2024. The regulation, which provides clearer rules for crypto-asset...
The regulatory requirements for insurance companies are becoming increasingly complex. In this interview, Marc Böhlhoff and Thomas Volkmer, Partners at Mazars in Germany, discuss the impact of this change on the industry and delve into what it means for the operations...
The IIF Annual Membership meeting is a setting for insights and perspectives from global financial regulators and senior financial sector executives on topical economic and regulatory issues. Being a forum with global coverage means that it is a valuable setting for...
DORA (the Digital Operational Resilience Act) is the key regulatory outlook for IT and Cyber risk between now and 2025. The European Supervisory Agencies have sought to strengthen the resilience of institutions by emphasising the need to evolve the approach...
The Eurofi financial forum is a setting for exchanges between European Union (EU) economic and financial regulators and senior financial sector executives from the industry. It occurs bi-annually alongside the Economic and Financial Affairs Council configuration (ECOFIN) meetings. This summary...
With the approaching end of the investigation phase of the ECB’s digital euro project in October 2023, and the expectance of a decision on starting a realisation phase by the end of this year, the pros and cons of a...
Since the onset of 2023, regulatory news has been adorned with the latest European legislation, under the acronym DORA, adopted on 10 November 2022 by the European Parliament. Standing for the Digital Operational Resilience Act, it will apply to the...
“I see digital as the future of finance”. These are the words of the Executive Vice President of the European Commission (EC), Valdis Dombrovskis, voiced in the summer of 2020. He has undoubtedly been proven right as governments and central...
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) continue to receive increasing attention not only from the ECB but all over the world. So far, 10 countries [1] have already deployed CBDC programmes with another 15 countries [2] currently conducting pilot programmes. In...
Regardless of geography or business sector, many groups and companies have taken out cybersecurity insurance policies in recent years. These policies cover companies against new threats to information systems, including ransomware and data theft incidents that have been making the...
As a setting for exchange between European Union (EU) economic and financial regulators and senior financial sector executives from the industry, one of the world’s largest financial services conferences, Eurofi, took place in Paris in February. Established in 2000, the...
Like all industries, the real estate sector has to implement a range of legal, technical and organisational measures to protect the personal data of its employees, customers, prospects and suppliers. Processing must comply with several regulations related to data protection,...
The Covid-19 pandemic has amplified technology’s impact on the banking sector, helping to prove that technology now stands at the core of business sustainability for banks. In their constant search for convenience, digitally-savvy customers have pushed banks’ focus towards providing...
The widespread use of working from home (WFH) during the pandemic, regardless of sector or geographical location has required organisations and their information systems (IS) management to be very agile in deploying or increasing their capacity for remote collaboration. Some...
The digitalisation of banking processes and the introduction of AI-led technology impact the central and strategic role of information systems within the banking system. The growing use of information and communication technology (ICT) exposes all financial institutions to an increasing...
Over the past decade, the financial services industry has been disrupted by the arrival of new players whose rise to prominence has pushed traditional banks - previously faced with little competition - to transform themselves. In this context, technology and...
While digital transformation has been disrupting all business sectors for many years, 2020 will be remembered for its particular impact on real estate administrators. A third of French respondents believe that artificial intelligence can be more efficient than a real...
Facebook’s ambition to create a transferable global digital coin between users on the social media giant’s messaging platforms WhatsApp and Messenger has been controversial from the outset. Perhaps not surprisingly, the backlash from regulators around the world was substantial from...
In a series of articles aimed at promoting debate on the evolution of international tax regimes, Michael Lennard, Chief of International Tax Cooperation and Trade in the Financing for Sustainable Development Office (FSDO) of the United Nations, discusses the tax-related...
In a series of articles aimed at promoting debate on the evolution of international tax regimes, Michael Lennard, Chief of International Tax Cooperation and Trade in the Financing for Development Office (FfDO) of the United Nations, discusses the tax-related challenges...
There is little doubt that Covid-19 has had a significant impact on insurers, but there were already factors in play that were adding pressure on the insurance industry. What covid-19 has done is to create new challenges, as well as...
Robotic process automation (RPA) is software that sits on a PC or workstation and is programmed to mimic the activities that a member of staff would perform. It will open applications, copy and paste data, and follow predefined rules. A...
Mass data... The real estate sector is gradually going digital, and recent constructions now incorporate equipment and connectivity to allow both use and maintenance to be optimised. However, as the renovation of the stock is naturally slow, the majority of...
With a portfolio in excess of €1300 billion in 2017, euro savings are firmly established as the preferred life-insurance product for people in France, thanks to their threefold benefits of guaranteed capital, attractive returns and instant liquidity. However, recent financial...
Fintech is prominent in today’s business lexicon, having migrated from the back office to a prominent position in both consumer and commercial finance. Its core functionality on mobile devices and wide application in artificial intelligence (AI) spans blockchain, smart contracts,...
Big data analytics is one of the most discussed topics in the world of finance. Application of these methods has led to better assessment of credit quality, improved pricing of insurance contracts as well as automation of client interaction. Processes...
Because of its importance in society, the insurance industry has always faced a considerable amount of regulatory requirements at the national (BaFin) and international (EIOPA) level. Although this is generally something to be welcomed, this also presents a range of...
Digital transformation has expanded the need for security, continuity and resilience. Today’s business must embrace an enterprise risk management strategy that includes legal, regulatory and political considerations. Enterprises today face a significant level of security challenges across their organizations. IT...
As chief risk officer and executive committee member of Atlas Insurance PCC, Ian-Edward Stafrace is passionate about effective enterprise risk management and seeking opportunity from risk. Here Alan Craig and Enrico Federici of Mazars in Malta, talk to him about...
The lines between financial services and high technology are becoming increasingly blurred. Four major technological changes will disrupt financial services in the years ahead. In this article, written by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Mazars, we are discussing how technological...
In this podcast Greg Simpson discusses cyber security with our expert Francisco Sanches. They discuss major threats such as emerging risks, FCA guidance on cloud data storage and the cyber security skill gaps to name a few. Podcast player [audio...
Personal data security is increasingly important, but many companies may not be ready to comply with the EU’s tough new data protection laws, which must be implemented by May 2018. All EU businesses that handle data will have to comply...
Cyber as an organsational risk In 93% of data breaches, the targeted systems were compromised within minutes. 83% of the time, those breaches were not discovered for weeks, leaving the attackers with plenty of time to do their damage and...
We look at the rise of ‘robostocks’ and algorithmic trading, and consider the repercussions on financial markets. An old investment adage mockingly states that “a failed trade becomes a long term investment”. The idea behind it is that if a...
Cyberattacks aren’t just getting more frequent, they are also becoming significantly more vicious and sophisticated. The majority of today’s data breaches result from human error, making cybersecurity a “people problem” as well as a technology issue. The solution to this...
The unique business transformation attached to the digital era requires companies to respond with velocity. New systems integrating core transactional assets with mobile and social media have to be used - implying their ability to face volume. Moreover those new...
New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has significantly raised the bar for cybersecurity programs, releasing regulations on September 13, 2016 slated to go into effect on January 1, 2017. The regulation will affect all entities with a DFS “license,...
Cyber attacks aren’t just getting more frequent, they are also becoming significantly more vicious and sophisticated. According to the latest figures from the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of a data breach has reached nearly $6.5 million in the US,...
Thanks to Advanced Analytics, insurance providers can bring claims management into a new era by combining automatic processing of large volumes of data with human expertise. Analyzing data in order to optimize the claims processing chain is not a new...
The arrival of technology has been a game changer for Ireland's banking industry. Niall O’Grady Commercial Director of permanent tsb (PTSB) talks to Liam McKenna Partner Consulting Services - Mazars Ireland, about how the bank is using digitalisation to create more meaningful...
Confronted with legislation that is becoming increasingly constrictive, banks must optimize the management of their data. It’s a challenge that is compounded by the fact that data is often dispersed throughout information systems - a fact that aggregators are capitalising...
Digitalization poses many challenges for AXA Assistance as well as bringing great opportunities. Alexis de Schonen, Digital Transformation and Strategy Director, and Roman Puszka, Chief Compliance Officer and Data Privacy Officer, discuss this issue. Does digitalization play a central role...
A series of initiatives designed to help combat terrorism financing have put electronic payment cards in the spotlight due to the fact they guarantee anonymity in the use of small sums. Announced on 23 November 2015, these initiatives supplement the...
3 Questions to Mister Doe When it comes to the administration of dormant bank accounts and unclaimed life policies, the quality of data, the inflexibility of internal procedures and complex processing is causing banks and insurers big problems. Vladimir Nguekam, CEO...
By 2025, The Wall Street Journal ([1]) estimated that Generation Y, also known as Millennials, would represent nearly half of the total active population in the world. The challenge for banks is to adapt their strategy to match Generation Y...
Financial Technology (“Fintech”) companies have kick-started a revolution in the payments landscape. Using state-of-the art technology, fintech companies are transforming how payments are transacted and processed. Banks and traditional payment providers are having to entirely rethink their approach to how...
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