This conference has now taken place.
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See below a selection of photos from the conference.
In early 2024, the Annual European Financial Services Conference (AEFSC) returns with a revitalised ambition under the banner of “Financing Europe: Investment that Supports Society“.
This renewal of the conference’s mandate focuses on Europe’s imperative to deliver an open, resilient, and competitive Union. Europe’s aspiration to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050 necessitates substantial investments in new technologies and sustainability-related reforms, and the urgency to act has never been greater. Driving support for innovative European companies in strategic sectors through private-sector financing, and leveraging well-developed capital markets that complement public funding for the green and digital transition is vital. This transformative agenda demands a collective shift in mindset, one that will unite individuals, employers, and governments to action. Leveraging the significant community around this conference, the aim is to make a tangible impact on the development of Europe’s financial capabilities and competitiveness.
Hosted by Barclays and Kreab in partnership with Forum Europe, this year’s conference will take place at BNP Paribas Auditorium in Brussels.
As Europe seeks to improve its competitiveness, the EU is accelerating efforts to invest in and shape a future built on clean energy, digital transformation, and industrial innovation. The development of a coherent financial ecosystem capable of driving Europe’s strategic objectives, one which integrates successfully the various existing and planned investment schemes, will be central to the likelihood of success in the next 5 years and beyond. Is Europe deploying the right tools to drive meaningful, long-term growth? What opportunities are there for cooperation with other regions of the world, and what might be learned from how global partners and competitors are approaching similar challenges?
With mounting unease at the state of global affairs and resilience the watchword, this session will examine the EU’s current regulatory regime, ask whether Europe’s investment strategies for competitiveness, and the financial instruments that will facilitate them, are all sufficiently robust and flexible to drive Europe to where it needs to be.
As Europe moves towards creating a European Savings and Investment Union, this session will explore the crucial role of an evolved banking and capital markets union, as well as private and occupational pensions, venture and risk capital, in unlocking and channelling substantial investments towards Europe’s strategic priorities. It will look at the scaling up of investment funds and the consolidation of stock exchanges and post-trading infrastructure, aiming to deliver the clean, digital and social transition.
The session will stock-take the current regulatory environment and analyse what reforms, supervisions and safeguards may be required to ensure ongoing financial stability and resilience.
Francesco is the Chief Executive Officer at Barclays Europe. Based in Dublin, he serves on the Board of Barclays Bank Ireland PLC, and leads the Barclays Europe Executive Committee.
Francesco joined Barclays in London in 2010, as Global Head of Barclays Corporate Development, where in addition to corporate activity on Barclays’ behalf, he was responsible for all Principal Investments across Barclays Group. In 2018, he moved to the Investment Bank as Co-Head of Barclays EME Financial Institutions Group and was subsequently appointed Chief Executive Officer for Barclays Europe in 2020.
Prior to Barclays, Francesco worked as a Senior Banker at JP Morgan in New York. Before JP Morgan, he held a number of senior roles at Bear Stearns, Lazard and GE Capital.
Francesco holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Politics & Economics from University of Oxford and a Master of Science in Economics and Philosophy from the London School of Economics.
CEO, Barclays Europe
Andrea Sironi has been a member of the Board of Directors of Assicurazioni Generali since February 28, 2022.
He graduated in Economics from the Bocconi University in Milan. In addition to being Rector of Bocconi University, he also held the role of Vice Rector for International Relations, Dean of the Graduate School and director of the research division of SDA Bocconi. His research activity has so far mainly concerned the measurement and management of risks in financial institutions and the regulation of markets and financial institutions. He has published numerous articles in national and international scientific journals and numerous Italian and international books.
He was financial analyst at Chase Manhattan Bank in London, Chair of CEMS, the global alliance of management schools, member of the board of directors of London Stock Exchange Group, Banco Popolare, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Unicredit Group and Intesa Sanpaolo. He was Vice-chair of Banca Aletti and Chair of Borsa Italiana.
Andrea Sironi is currently President and Professor of Economics of Financial Intermediaries at Bocconi University in Milan.
Chairman, Generali
Alexandra Jour-Schroeder is Deputy Director General of the European Commission´s Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union since March 2021. In her function, Alexandra Jour-Schroeder supervises and monitors the policies of the Directorate General.
Alexandra Jour-Schroeder is a graduate in law. Following initial assignments in the German federal government, she started working for the European Commission in 1996, holding several positions in competition, enterprise and industry policies as well as justice. From 1998 to 2007, she was Member of Cabinet for the Commissioners responsible for regional policy and justice and home affairs and for the Vice-President for enterprise and industry. Since 2017, she has been the Director for Criminal Justice in the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, working inter alia on the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor´s Office and Anti-Money Laundering policies. From 2018 to 2021, she was also overseeing consumer policies as Acting Deputy Director General in DG Justice and Consumers.
Deputy Director-General, DG FISMA, European Commission
Constance Chalchat is the Head of CIB Company Engagement, Global Markets Chief Sustainability Officer and is a member of the BNP Paribas Corporate & Institutional Banking Board.
Constance is responsible for Corporate Engagement, Sustainable Finance, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Strategic Marketing & Communication within CIB. As sustainability is at the core of BNP Paribas’s strategy, CIB Company Engagement’s mission is to work closely with all of CIB business lines and functions in order to accelerate its sustainable finance activities, as well as partnering with Human Resources to promote diversity and inclusion, drivers of engagement within the company.
Additionally, in her role as Chief Sustainability Officer for Global Markets, a world leader in Sustainable finance, Constance is in charge of leading the change of our markets activities, and fostering change at our clients and partners, incorporating ESG in analysis, modelling and decision making.
Since joining BNP Paribas in 2001, Constance has held various management positions in Transformation, Digital, Analytics, AI and Sustainable Development.
Constance holds an MBA in Finance from HEC Paris business school and certifications from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
She is the author of “Technology, threat or lever of change?” published in l’Annale des Mines in 2018.
Head of CIB Company Engagement & Global Markets Chief Sustainability Officer, BNP Paribas
Petra is EIOPA Chairperson and is leading the Authority since September 2021. On 27 May 2021 the Council adopted the decision to appoint her after the confirmation by the European Parliament on 18 May 2021.
Prior to that role she was Division Director Insurance Supervision at De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB, the Dutch Central Bank). The division is responsible for the supervision of the Dutch insurance sector. Petra joined DNB in February 2007. In 2013 she became Head Insurance Policy. In 2015 she was appointed as Head of the DNB Expert Center for Fit & Proper testing, assessing (supervisory and management) board members in the financial sector. In February 2017 she started as Director of Payments and Market Infrastructures and was responsible for the payments and collateral operations of the central bank, oversight, policy and cyberintelligence. Also the TIBER project (Threat Intelligence Based Ethical Red teaming) was part of her responsibilities. Prior to joining the Dutch Central Bank Petra had an international career in the oil and gas industry.
Petra was an Alternate Member of the EIOPA Board of Supervisors. She was also the Chair of the EIOPA Policy Committee.
Petra has a European Masters in Law & Economics and a Masters in Russian Studies. She is married and proud mother of three children.
Chairperson, EIOPA
William De Vijlder has been Group Chief Economist of BNP Paribas since 2014. He began his career in the Economic Research Department at Belgium’s Générale de Banque
in 1987 and joined the Asset Management division in 1989. At Fortis Investments he was Managing Director
and Global Chief Investment Officer. When joining BNP Paribas Investment Partners in 2010, he became a
member of its Executive Committee and Chief Investment Officer of Partners and Alternative Investments.
He has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Ghent
(Belgium), where he has been a senior lecturer since 1991. He is a board member of Le Club du CEPII and is also a member of the Group of Economic Advisers to ESMA’s Committee for Economic and Market Analysis.
Group Chief Economist, BNP Paribas
Stéphanie Yon-Courtin is a Member of the European Parliament, Vice-President of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and substitute member in the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), of the Committee on Fisheries (PECH) and in the sub-committee on taxation (FISC). She is also Chair of the delegation for relations with Canada, and a substitute member of the delegation for relations with the United States, and of the delegation for relations with the United Kingdom.
Stéphanie is the rapporteur for the ECON committee on the Digital Markets Act, and is closely involved on all legislative discussions on the regulation of financial services at EU level, notably in the on-going negotiations on digital finance.
Stéphanie is also a member of the Normandy Regional Council. Prior to her election as an MEP in 2019, she was Mayor of Saint-Contest, a member of the Calvados Departmental Council, and a Vice-President of the urban community Caen la Mer.
Prior to that, Stéphanie worked as an advisor on international affairs in the office of Bruno Lasserre, former President of the French Competition Authority. She was admitted to the Paris Bar in 2004, specialising in competition law, and worked in international law firms. She also worked as a legal expert in the European Commission.
Stéphanie holds a Master’s degree in law from the Universities of Caen and Bristol, and a Master’s degree in European Business Law from the Institute of European Studies.
Member, European Parliament
José Manuel Campa is the current chairperson of the European Banking Authority.
After studying law and economics at the University of Oviedo and earning his PhD in economics from Harvard University, Mr. Campa taught finance at New York University and the IESE Business School and consulted for a number of international organisations including the World Bank, the IMF, the Bank for International Settlements and the European Commission.
He then served as the 10th Secretary of State for Economy of the Spanish government and was most recently Director of Regulatory affairs of the Santander Bank.
Chairperson, European Banking Authority
Markus Ferber, born in 1965 in Augsburg and an engineer by profession, has been a Member of the European Parliament since 1994. During his time in office, he has served in multiple high-profile roles, such as Chairman of the CSU delegation in the European Parliament and Co-Chairman of the CDU/CSU delegation in the EPP Group. Currently, he serves as the Coordinator of the European Peoples Party (EPP) in the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. As rapporteur for the recast of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) he has been the European Parliament’s lead negotiator for one of the key pieces of post-crisis financial markets regulation. Markus Ferber takes a keen interest in financial services as well as banking and insurance legislation. On 1 January 2020, Ferber became Chairman of the Hanns-Seidel Foundation, a political foundation associated with the CSU
Member, European Parliament
Chair, European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)
Biography will be included shortly.
Morten Bech joined the BIS in mid-2011. Before taking up his current assignment in 2020, he was the head of the secretariat supporting the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures with responsibility for coordinating and contributing to the activities of the Committee and its various working groups. He has also served as Secretary to the Markets Committee. He previously worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Danish central bank. In 2009, he was a visitor at the Monetary Affairs Division of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington DC. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has written on various issues relating to monetary policy implementation, money markets, the network topology of financial markets, large-value payment systems and systemic risk.
Centre Head – Switzerland, BIS Innovation Hub
Professor Danuta Hübner is a Polish economist, academic and policy maker. Born in 1948, she received her Masters degree from the Foreign Trade Department at the Warsaw School of Economics (1971) and a PhD in 1974. She is still teaching at the Warsaw School of Economics and was awarded honorary doctorates in economies and law by several universities including Sussex University and Economic University in Poznan.
Before becoming an advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister in Poland in 1994, she has been engaged in building the new Polish economy after communism. As a Polish Advisor, Vice-Minister or Minister, she has promoted a new approach to industrial policy as well as the development to prepare Poland’s entry in the European Union and in the OECD. Ms. Hubner became the first Polish Minister for European Affairs and the first Polish member of the European Commission (regional policy).
Since 2009, she has been a Member of the European Parliament, where she uses her experience in international institutions, for instance as Undersecretary General for the United Nations (Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva between 1998 and 2000).
Member, European Parliament
Paul Tang is a Member of the European Parliament for the Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) since July 2014, as part of the Group of Socialists and Democrats. He received a PhD in Economics from the University of Amsterdam and worked for the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs and the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis before entering the Dutch parliament in 2007.
Here, Paul Tang was spokesperson for financial and fiscal affairs from 2007 until 2010, right through the financial crisis.
In 2014, Paul Tang led the list of the PvdA for the European elections. In 2019 he was re-elected. Paul Tang mainly works on economic and financial affairs (ECON), with a focus on fair taxation and sustainable finance, and the role of data in our society (LIBE). Since September 2020, Tang is chair of the subcommittee on taxation (FISC).
Paul Tang (23 april 1967) is sinds juli 2014 lid van het Europees Parlement namens de Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA). En daarmee onderdeel van de groep Socialisten&Democraten (S&D). Hij ontving een PhD in Economie van de Universiteit van Amsterdam, en werkte voor het Ministerie van Economische Zaken en het Centraal Planbureau (CPB), voor hij in 2007 in de Tweede Kamer gekozen werd. Daar was Tang woordvoerder voor financiën en belastingzaken van 2007-2010, midden in de economische crisis.
In 2014 werd Tang door de leden van de PvdA gekozen tot lijsttrekker voor de Europese verkiezingen. In 2019 werd hij herkozen in het Europees parlement. Tang werkt in het Europees Parlement voornamelijk aan financiële en belastingzaken (ECON commissie), met een focus op eerlijke belastingen en een duurzame economie. Daarnaast werkt hij binnen hij aan de rol van data en privacy in onze samenleving (LIBE commissie). Vanaf september 2020 is Tang actief als voorzitter van de subcommissie over Belastingen (FISC).
Member, European Parliament
Lawrence is a globally recognised digital advocate in the financial services sector with a track record as an advisor, executive, and board member, working with firms from early-stage start-ups to global brands. Based in London, he is the Principal of Elipses, a digital investment management firm focused on sustainable investments and state of the art digital technologies like blockchain, big data, and AI. He is a co-founder of Global Digital Finance, a global members’ network delivering advocacy and standards to promote fair and transparent digital markets, and he is the former CEO of Innovate Finance, the UK fintech members association. Lawrence has an MBA, sits on several boards, and is a regular Forbes contributor. He promotes ethical and sustainable finance policies for a transparent, secure, and quality digital future for everyone.
Executive Co-Chair, Global Digital Finance
Ingrid Holmes is the Executive Director of the Green Finance Institute. The GFI sits at the nexus of the public and private sectors and convenes and leads sectoral coalitions of global experts that identify and unlock barriers to investment towards impactful, real-economy outcomes, to benefit our environment, society, and business. Key areas of focus currently include energy efficiency in buildings, electric vehicle roll out, emerging markets infrastructure financing and financing nature based solutions. Ingrid was previously a Director and Head of Policy and Advocacy at Federated Hermes International. She was also the firm’s climate change coordinator. She has over 15 years of experience working on environmental policy and sustainable finance issues. Prior to joining Hermes Ingrid was a Director at sustainable development think tank E3G, leading a range of global initiatives on sustainable and inclusive finance. She has also held positions at the low carbon asset manager Climate Change Capital; been an energy and environment adviser in the UK Parliament; and adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Prior to that she had a career in science publishing and journalism.
Ingrid has held several Government advisory roles including Member of the UK Green Finance Initiative (2016/2018), Member of the European Commission’s High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (2017/2018) and ran the Secretariat for the Green Finance Taskforce (2017/2018). She is currently Vice Chair of the Disclosures Working Group within the UK Prudential Regulation Authority/Financial Conduct Authority Climate Financial Risk Forum; Co-Chair of the Investment Association’s Climate Change Working Group; and Member of the Lloyd’s ESG Advisory Group.
Ingrid has a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc/DIC in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London. Her BSc thesis was published in Genetical Research (Cambs) and she was awarded the Kathleen Lacy Prize for ranking first in her MSc specialism (Pollution Management).
Executive Director, Green Finance Institute
Jane Ambachtsheer oversees the firm’s ambitious approach to sustainable investment. This is empowered by the firm’s Sustainability Centre, which undertakes innovative research and policy development, guides BNPP AM’s investment stewardship and industry engagement activities, and supports investment teams in accessing, integrating and reporting on ESG factors. On the business side, Jane is responsible for BNPP AM’s Corporate Social Responsibility (‘CSR’) approach, ensuring the firm’s day-to-day activities reflect the high standards it expects from companies. Jane is a member of BNPP AM’s Global Investment Committee and Business Management Committees, and reports to the Head of Investments, Rob Gambi.
Previously, Jane spent 18 years with global investment consultancy Mercer, where she was Partner and founder of the firm’s Responsible Investment business. Jane regularly researches, writes and speaks on topics addressing the intersection of sustainability and climate with finance and investment. She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto and a Research Affiliate at the University Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, and holds a Master of Social Science from the University of Amsterdam and a Bachelor of Economics and English Literature with honours from York University.
Global Head of Sustainability, BNP Paribas Asset Management
Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management with an extensive international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs 140,000 people. Visit website: www.barclays.com
Kreab is a world leading communications consultancy. We provide independent and strategic advice on high-stakes financial, corporate and public affairs communications. With operations in 25 countries, and over 350 highly experienced consultants, we offer communications counsel to the highest levels within companies, organizations, governments and governmental agencies. Visit website: www.kreab.com
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