Background

The Bretton Woods Committee’s Future of Finance Forum is an annual half-day conference that brings together policymakers, regulators, industry experts and practitioners, to discuss emerging topics, trends and technologies shaping the financial services ecosystem. As an economically powerful region on the cutting edge of financial innovation, the conference rotates among Asian financial centers. The inaugural edition of the Forum took place in Singapore in 2022 and in Hong Kong in 2023. The third edition of the Forum will once again return to Singapore in 2024.

Theme

The global financial landscape is settling into a higher-for-longer interest rate environment and finding its footing in a world of slower growth and significant geopolitical tension. The fact that the banking episodes in the US and the failure of Credit Suisse, a G-SIB and the most significant failure since 2008, did not trigger a global systemic crisis last year suggests that the regulatory framework is fundamentally sound. Nevertheless, last year’s events have sparked a renewed debate on how to refine the regulatory framework.

Technological innovation and the rapid flow of information now present both opportunities and challenges to financial operators and regulators. Whether technological innovations become positives or negatives for the global financial system depends on how those operators and regulators respond. This year, the Future of Finance Forum returns to Singapore, a city that sits at the cross-section of finance and innovation. The forum will take a realistic look at the global economic outlook, how to overcome current obstacles, and how innovation can be leveraged as a tool to promote growth and stability.

Keynote Address – Global Economic and Financial Stability Risks and Opportunities

In the last few years, the global economy has shown resiliency through uncertainty. Global recovery from the pandemic has been steady despite significant central bank interest rate hikes to manage inflation. Cracks in the financial system revealed during the monetary tightening cycle have not yet ruptured further. However, growth prospects vary by region and could further be impacted by interest rate uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and fragmentation. At the same time, new technologies – such as AI, asset tokenization, fast payments systems, etc. – could boost productivity and accelerate a return to strong growth. How are these factors shaping the macroeconomic and financial stability outlook and how are central banks responding? How do the outlooks and policy response diverge for advanced and emerging economies? Which technologies have the potential for transformative growth and how do policymakers and regulators manage growing financial and cyber risks associated with digitization?

Confirmed Speaker:

• Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India

Re-examining the Regulatory Landscape

The bank failures at Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank last year underscored the overall resilience of the financial system. However, the bank resolution framework went unused in the Credit Suisse example and the SVB liquidity gap highlights that there is room for improvement in the regulatory system. What lessons can we draw from the Credit Suisse and SVB episodes to fine tune the regulatory framework while keeping the financial system safe and sound during times of stress? At the same time, risk concentration is increasing in the nonbank sector. What regulation is required to prevent a potential crisis stemming from outside the banking regulatory perimeter?

Panelists:

• William C. Dudley, Chair, BWC; Former President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
• Colm Kelleher, Chairman, UBS Group AG
• Chia Der Jiun, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore
• Emily Slater, Executive Director, Bretton Woods Committee (Moderator)

Leveraging Technology for Growth and Stability

Artificial Intelligence, tokenization, digital assets, and other financial technologies are quickly becoming prominent in the financial system. These innovations offer large potential upside but could also introduce significant risk. The introduction of fast payment systems in Singapore and India has provided a host of benefits to retail and commercial users for example. This new innovation could enable a seismic evolution in cross-border payments, but many countries require significant investment in technology and infrastructure to make systems interoperable. How can the global financial system most effectively integrate new tools and technologies? How can practitioners and regulators capture their upside while limiting the risk? What governance gaps need to be addressed to ensure that development happens in a way that is global, equitable, and interoperable? 

Panelists:

• Maha El Dimachki, Head, BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre
• Ong-Ang Ai Boon, Director, The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS)
• Chris Clark, Chairman, Asia Pacific, Visa
• Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore
• William C. Dudley, Chair, BWC; Former President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of New York (Moderator)