The Linklaters Podcast

In our next podcast focusing on ESG in a project financing context, Rachel Barrett and Iyesogie Igiehon discuss:

• why transparency matters when it comes to environmental and social issues;

In our next podcast focusing on ESG in a project financing context, Iyesogie Igiehon and Aileen Buchanan discuss:

• the role of E&S due diligence in project financings;

The next focus of our ESG Soundbite Series will be on the importance of ESG in a project financing context.

They share some quick insights on:

• how soft law standards have driven change in the market;

The UK regulators have finalised their operational resilience regimes. Clare McMullen, Verity Kemp and Simon Treacy compare the final rules with the draft rules.

Quote: Clare McMullen, Partner: “How firms treat vulnerable customers fairly is a real priority of the FCA at the moment and so it is not a surprise that they have added express references to vulnerable customers in their guidance on operational resilience.”

Julia Dixon, Pansy Wong and Simon Treacy share their insights from the OpRisk Global conference which took place virtually in March 2021.

Pansy Wong, Partner: “Plenty of people I spoke to were worried about what it means that different standards are developing in different jurisdictions. And even though the overall aim of all these different regimes is the same, the nuances between them will inevitably cause headaches for global firms.”

Pansy Wong, Rebecca Heaysman and Simon Treacy look back on what has changed since the UK regulators released their draft rules on operational resilience in December 2019.

Pansy Wong, Partner: “It would be a real surprise if the outcome of all the policy work that has happened in the background isn’t influenced by the events that have taken place since the consultations were launched… All of that said, Covid-19 has been a really unusual source of disruption.”

Julia Dixon, Verity Kemp and Simon Treacy introduce the concept of operational resilience and what it means for UK financial services.

Julia Dixon, Partner: “The reforms are really signalling a cultural change, a shift in terms of how firms need to approach resilience and there’s going to be regulatory attention focused right at the top of the house on how you are approaching this subject.”

Michael Voisin & Richard Hay

In this two-part episode, Michael Voisin and Richard Hay discuss the limitations of legacy systems and drives to improve and replace them. This second part focuses on efforts to create parallel closed loop payment systems that do not rely on existing legacy infrastructure, such as so called “stablecoins” and central bank digital currencies.

Michael Voisin & Richard Hay

To date, much of the innovation in the payments market has been at the user-interface level – in a sense, “digital lipstick” applied on top of existing legacy systems. But that approach has its limitations. And there is now growing demand for improvements to underlying payment systems to increase the speed and efficiency of value movements. In this two-part episode, Michael Voisin and Richard Hay discuss the limitations of legacy systems and drives to improve and replace them. This first part focuses on existing legacy systems and initiatives to alter and upgrade them.

Peiying Chua Heikes & Niranjan Arasaratnam

Asia has seen a huge growth in its payments industry over the past few years, spurred on by a young, tech-savvy generation and push for the financial inclusion of the underbanked. Amidst rapid development, regulators are now tasked with overcoming fragmentation in payments ecosystems and ensuring continued financial stability – but at the same time pushing for innovation and change. Peiying Chua and Niranjan Arasaratnam discuss key trends in the Asian payments markets and what the next year is likely to bring.