2024 was a momentous year for the financial services industry. Financial institutions had to deal with geopolitical risks arising from conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere, while elections around the world rocked the political consensus, bringing very different leadership to many jurisdictions, including the US and the UK. Climate change continued to present new challenges for banks and insurers, while asset managers were subject to increasing and often contradictory requirements in the ESG space. At the same time, new technologies like AI continued to develop at a dizzying pace, creating opportunities as well as risks for the sector.
These trends are likely to continue and in our view will accelerate in the year to come. The incoming Trump administration is expected to introduce significant changes in areas like trade, sustainable finance, and cryptoassets, which will have ramifications across the globe. There is a new emphasis on growth and proportionate regulation in many jurisdictions, but at the same time an ongoing focus on financial stability, protecting consumers and tackling fraud and money laundering. AI looms on the horizon, with the potential to transform every corner of the industry.
In our client briefing, we examine 10 of the most important trends in financial services, to help you navigate the year ahead.
The 10 trends covered are:
- Shifting sanctions
- AML and other controls continue to fall under scrutiny
- The outlook for payments: more innovation, and more risk of fraud
- Protecting retail consumers is increasingly in the spotlight
- Pro- and anti-ESG tensions are spreading
- The growing regulatory spotlight on private capital
- Expanding scrutiny of senior manager conduct
- Deregulation, growth and competitiveness causing divergence
- Harnessing AI for growth while providing appropriate safeguards
- Cryptoassets: has their moment come at last?
Please contact your usual Freshfields contact if you would like to arrange a discussion on any of these topics.
