The FS Club Podcast

The eighteenth edition of the China Construction Bank Global Green Finance Index provides the world’s most authoritative measure of the performance of financial centres in delivering green finance services.

The report, assembled by combining the views of financial professionals from around the world, with quantitative data commissioned and curated from over 130 sources, uses advanced statistical techniques to map the global spread of green finance.

Join us for an FS Club webinar with two of the UK’s top regulators. We’ll be joined by Simon Walls, Executive Director for Markets at the Financial Conduct Authority, and Jessica Rusu, Chief Data Information and Innovation Officer at the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss the work the regulator is doing to enable innovation and support investment and growth.

The conversation will explore key issues shaping the UK’s competitiveness, including capital investment and boosting UK IPO activity, digital innovation and technology adoption, and attracting inward investment. The session will provide insights into the opportunities and challenges facing regulators and industry as they seek to foster growth while maintaining confidence in financial markets.

A regular speaker at the FS Club, EU Regulatory Expert David P. Doyle is back to give a mid-year update on the EU financial services regulatory agenda.He will be covering some of the most contentious and game-changing pieces of EU legislation in the financial services space, notably:

• A strategic insight into the new technical regulatory standards from the EU AML Authority
• Implications for the financial sector of the EU 'Strategic autonomy' strategy and the 'extra-territoriality' nature of regulation
• Updates on DORA: focus on ICT third-party providers contributing to critical and important functions

This report, Finance in Asia: AI-driven, FinTech, Digital Currencies and The Evolution of Financial Infrastructure, evaluates the state of these technologies n Asia in 2026. Asia is defined as the Asia/Pacific region used by Z/Yen in our Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), and other indices, excluding Australasia. The report summarises current trends and developments across major Asian financial centres such as Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shenzhen, and others where innovation thrives and AI-centric financial services are becoming the norm. The outcome of these initiatives is the wholesale transformation of finance and financial services across Asian geographies. The lessons from the trends and developments observed in Asia have worldwide implications for the evolution (and even revolution) of finance in both developed and developing economies.

As artificial intelligence, automation, and digital platforms reshape our lives, one commercial and human question becomes increasingly important: what will make clients stay when machines can compare, recommend, negotiate, and switch on their behalf? This webinar will explore the future of loyalty in a market where machines can process information, identify alternatives, and personalise offers at a scale no human relationship manager can match. If products, prices, and promises become easier to compare, then trust, memory, reputation, emotional relevance, and accumulated relationship value may become even more important.

Vladislav Dobrokhotov, author of The G.R.E.A.T. Retention Book, will examine why client retention should be treated not as a back-office metric, but as a strategic discipline for the AI age. The discussion will consider how financial and professional services firms can make loyalty more visible, intentional, and defensible not only to human clients but also to the intelligent systems that increasingly shape their decisions. The session is especially relevant for firms where trust, confidence, judgment, reputation, and long-term relationships remain central to growth. It will invite participants to think beyond acquisition, beyond account management, and beyond conventional customer experience towards a future where the real competitive advantage may belong to the organisation's clients, and their machines, still choose to stay with.

Seoul has been designated and developed as a global financial hub, continuously refining its legal, regulatory, and physical infrastructure to attract international capital and talent. To share the latest progress and future directions of these initiatives, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, in collaboration with the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), is hosting this special webinar. The discussion will cover the critical policy and institutional frameworks reshaping Seoul’s financial landscape.

The first session will cover Fn Hub Korea's establishment background, objectives, and collaboration framework with related institutions. It will then take a closer look at how Fn Hub Korea promotes Korea as a financial hub and assists foreign financial companies in entering and operating in the Korean market. The second session will focus on the Seoul Metropolitan Government's proactive financial policies, specifically showcasing foreign investment incentives and infrastructure support designed to accelerate fintech growth.

We kindly invite you to join this dialogue, connect with international professionals, and explore Seoul’s evolving role and future opportunities within the global financial landscape.

The global aviation industry has demonstrated remarkable resilience in recent years, yet airlines continue to face an increasingly complex operating environment. Geopolitical instability, constrained aircraft supply, rising costs, shifting consumer behaviour, and structural changes across the market are reshaping the industry's future.

In this webinar, aviation analyst Chris Tarry will examine the key forces influencing airline performance today and explore what they mean for the years ahead. Drawing on the latest industry data and market analysis, the discussion will cover supply chain constraints, aircraft availability, fuel prices, changing patterns of demand, the evolution of low-cost carriers, and the long-term implications of consolidation and airport capacity.

The session will also consider how recent global events have accelerated structural change across aviation, creating both new risks and new opportunities for airlines, airports, investors, and policymakers.

Whether you work in aviation, finance, infrastructure, or simply have an interest in the future of air transport, this webinar will provide valuable insight into one of the world's most dynamic industries.

Population health is rapidly emerging as a financially material issue for institutional investors, yet it remains significantly underdeveloped compared to climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion in mainstream investment practice. This session presents findings from Investor Action on Health: A Review (Northeastern University / Health Foundation, February 2026), a systematic review of how asset owners and asset managers can use corporate engagement, ESG ratings, board oversight, and policy engagement to influence company behaviour across 15 priority health issues - from worker safety and nutrition to antimicrobial resistance and digital wellbeing. Drawing on lessons from the evolution of investor action on climate and EDI, the talk introduces a practical framework for matching investor action mechanisms to the maturity of specific health issues and discusses the challenges and opportunities investors face in demonstrating financial materiality and attributing impact. This session will be of interest to finance and investment professionals, policymakers, and anyone keen to understand how the investment community can be a force for better public health.

Speaker:

In this webinar, Dr. Jin Park, Research Fellow at the Busan Development Institute, will discuss “Advancing Busan as a Leading Digital Finance Hub,” sharing policy insights and strategies to position Busan as a competitive digital finance center. Prof. Chaehyun Kim, Assistant Professor at Pukyong National University, will present “From Port to Platform: The Future of Digital Finance in Busan,” offering an academic perspective on the city’s evolution from its traditional maritime strengths toward a modern digital finance platform. The session will explore key policy directions and academic viewpoints on scaling up digital finance in Busan and its ambitions to become a leading global financial hub.

Taiwan is strategically enhancing its international visibility by evolving from fundamental Carbon Management to the development of robust Carbon Market Mechanisms. As a critical node in the global supply chain, Taiwan is leveraging its industrial strengths to build a carbon ecosystem that emphasizes market transparency and alignment with international standards. Central to this effort is the integration of real-world corporate decarbonization experience with advanced financial oversight, creating a high-integrity environment for carbon credit trading. These initiatives aim to expand Taiwan’s sustainable finance capacity and investor base while boosting its regional competitiveness in the global net-zero transition.

The success of this transition relies on a multi-dimensional approach that bridges the gap between policy and practice. At the foundational level, Taiwan’s leading enterprises are providing vital insights into decarbonization, transforming operational excellence into measurable carbon assets. Simultaneously, professional financial frameworks are being implemented to address the complexities of risk management within carbon trading, ensuring that market participants can navigate price volatility and regulatory shifts with confidence. This collaborative model ensures that the market remains responsive to industry needs while fostering a resilient ecosystem for green capital.