10th Annual FinTech and Regulation Conference

Our 10th Annual FinTech and Regulation Conference took place in Brussels on 3 February 2026.

We would like to thanks our speakers, our generous sponsors and of course the participants for making this event possible.

This year the focus was on Digital Finance: What role for the EU?

It was a hugely successful day during which we looked the risks and opportunities arising from the latest trends in the market. We talked about the best public policy response for the adoption of new technologies by the financial services sector. We also explored how we promote a globally consistent approach to regulation.

Programme:

09.00 – 09.05: Welcoming remarks
Nickolas Reinhardt, Director, Afore Consulting

09.05 – 09.20: Opening Keynote
Maria Luís Albuquerque, Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union

09.20 – 09.40 Fireside Chat
Moderator: Nickolas Reinhardt, Director, Afore Consulting
Bruce Lowthers, CEO and Executive Director, Paysafe

09.40 – 10.15: Getting the Global Policy Response Right
Moderator: Nickolas Reinhardt, Director, Afore Consulting
• Claude Marx, Director General, Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF)
• Emmanuel Givanakis, CEO, FSRA of Abu Dhabi Global Markets
• Tom Mutton, Director, Bank of England
• Joe Heneghan, Partner & CEO, Revolut

10.15 – 10.30 Fireside Chat
Moderator: Nickolas Reinhardt, Director, Afore Consulting
Cónal Hickey, Vice President, Security and Resiliency Practice Leader, Kyndryl

10.30 – 10.45 Fireside Chat
Moderator: Nickolas Reinhardt, Director, Afore Consulting
Renate Nikolay, Deputy Director-General, DG CONNECT, European Commission

10.45 – 10.55: Coffee Break

10.55 – 11.05: Tech Talk: The Future of Agentic AI
Viviane Eide, UX Research Leader, Google Payments

11.05 – 11.45: AI: Delivering on Compliance or Creating New Headaches?
Moderator: Jon Bromma, Global Head of Payments and Financial Policy, Meta
Speakers:
• Carmine Di Noia, Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, OECD
• Derville Rowland, Board Member, AMLA
• Elie Beyrouthy, Chair of EPIF & Vice President Government Affairs, American Express
• Regina Doherty, Member of the European Parliament
• Jessica Rusu, Chief Data, Information and Intelligence Officer, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

11.45 – 12.05 Fireside chat
Moderator: Nickolas Reinhardt, Director, Afore Consulting
Petra Hielkema, Chair, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)

12.05 – 12.45: Operational Resilience: One Year Into the new EU rules – Is the Industry Safer?
Panel
Moderator: Ondrej Kovarik, Former Member of the European Parliament
Speakers:
• Nathaly Rey, Director of Global Regulatory Affairs, Google Cloud
• Hendrik Bourgeois, Senior Vice President Public Policy and Government Affairs, Mastercard
• Peter Kerstens, Advisor for Financial Sector Digitalisation and Cybersecurity, DG FISMA, European Commission
• Moira Cronin, Partner, PwC

12.45 – 13.00: Keynote
Patrick Montagner, Supervisory Board Member, European Central Bank (ECB)

13.00 – 14.00: Lunch

14.00 – 14.15: Europe’s Digital Autonomy: Between Fault Lines and Vault Lines
Steven Maijoor, Executive Board Member and Chair of Supervision, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB)

14.15 – 14.30: Keynote
Verena Ross, Chair, European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)

14.30 – 15.15: Tokenising Securities Markets: From DLT Pilots to Real Transformation?
Panel
Moderator: Peter Kerstens, Advisor for Financial Sector Digitalisation and Cybersecurity, DG FISMA, European Commission
Speakers:
• Carlo Comporti, Commissioner, Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa (CONSOB) and Chair of ESMA Digital Finance Standing Committee
• Paul Brody, Global Blockchain Leader, EY
• Tom Duff Gordon, Vice President of International Policy, Coinbase
• Prof. Christopher P. Buttigieg, Chief Officer Supervision, MFSA
• Mohamad Zaraket, Head of Digital Assets Strategy, EMEA, BNY

15.15 – 15.55: Looking towards the wider world
Moderator: Nickolas Reinhardt, Director, Afore Consulting
• Jean-Paul Servais, Chair, International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA)
• Paul Atkins, Chair, Securities and Exchange Commission

15.55 – 16.15: Keynote
Burkhard Balz, Member of the Board, Deutsche Bundesbank

16.15 – 16.30: Coffee Break

16.30 – 17.30: MiCA: One Year In – Are we seeing the First Mover Advantage?
Panel
Introductory Statement: Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, Chair, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), and ESMA Investor Protection Standing Committee
Moderator: Mattias Levin, Head of Unit, Digital Finance, DG FISMA, European Commission
Speakers:
• Faryar Shirzad, Chief Policy Officer, Coinbase
• Fabian Astic, Managing Director and Global Head of Digital Economy, Moody’s
• George Theocharides, Chairman, Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and ESMA Risk Standing Committee
• Rupert Schaefer, Chief Executive Officer Strategy, BaFin

17.30 – 17.40: Keynote (video)
Stéphanie Yon-Courtin, Member of the European Parliament

17.40: Closing remarks
• John Berrigan, Director General, DG FISMA, European Commission
• Nickolas Reinhardt, Director, Afore Consulting

Followed by a Networking Drink