To mark Canada’s International Development Week, Toronto Centre hosted a virtual executive panel on building financial resilience.

The World Bank’s latest Global Findex survey shows financial inclusion is rising. 79% of adults worldwide now have a bank account, up from just 50% in 2011. In low- and middle-income countries, that number is 75%, due to mobile technology and digital banking. But access alone isn’t enough. True inclusion must lead to financial resilience, and financial supervisors play a critical role in making that happen.

The panelists discussed:

• How supervisors should collaborate with regulators and providers to strengthen inclusion and resilience
• Strategies and tools for supervisors to drive greater use of financial services and build resilience
• Empowering people to save to achieve education and health goals

Opening Remarks:

Barbara Curran, Director General, Social and Economic Development Programming Bureau, Global Affairs Canada

Panelists:

Leora Klapper, Lead Economist, Development Research Group, The World Bank

Mariela Zaldivar, Head, Market Conduct and Financial Inclusion, Peruvian Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Funds (SBS)

Rhodora M. Brazil-De Vera, Officer-in-Charge, Supervisory Policy and Research Department; Head, ESG Supervision and Surveillance Group, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

Moderator:

Lindsay Wallace, Executive Director, FINCA Canada; Managing Director, Social Investment Strategies, FINCA International

Watch the virtual panel session here.

Read the transcript here. Read their biographies here.

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Banks and a handful of international firms historically conducted the majority of payment functions. More recently, enabled by technology and regulation, new entrants specializing in one or a few processes have joined retail payment sectors.

This Toronto Centre Note and accompanying podcast aims to guide financial sector supervisors whose responsibilities include the supervision of companies licensed or authorized to operate and provide retail payment services (RPS) to perform risk-based supervision (RBS).

Speaker: 

Robert Urry, Program Leader, Toronto Centre

Host: 

Floris Fleermuys, Program Director, Toronto Centre

Read the transcript here. Read their biographies here.

On July 16, 2025, The World Bank Group released The Global Findex 2025. It is a comprehensive database on how adults save, borrow, make payments, and manage risk. This edition introduces the Global Findex Digital Connectivity Tracker, which illustrates how mobile phones and internet access are advancing financial inclusion.

In this podcast, the speakers explore the highlights of the report, including:

• Mobile phone ownership, internet use, digital activities, and digital safety
• The growth in financial account ownership across developing economies
• Opportunities for regulators to increase capital flows within economies
• The importance of savings and earning interest

Speaker: 

Leora Klapper, Lead Economist, Development Research Group, The World Bank

Host: 

Mamta Suri, Program Director, Toronto Centre

Read the transcript here. Read their biographies here.

Read the 2025 Global Findex here.

The Forum on Financial Supervision was founded as part of the Systemic Risk Centre at the London School of Economics. It promotes the exchange of knowledge amongst senior policy makers, financial supervisors, and academics to address key issues with a focus on financial stability.

This podcast explores the origins of the Forum and its first-year priorities: stress testing, the non-banking sector, and real estate markets. The speakers also discuss future goals for the Forum, including fostering public debate and integrating research into supervisory practice.

Speakers: 

Pedro Duarte Neves, Advisor, Board of Directors, Banco de Portugal

Andrea Enria, Senior Advisor, Prudential Regulation Authority; Member, Prudential Regulation Committee, Bank of England

Host: 

Demet Çanakçı, Senior Program Director, Toronto Centre

Read the transcript here. Read their biographies here.

Visit the Forum on Financial Supervision website to learn more.

The views expressed in the podcast are those of Pedro Duarte Neves and Andrea Enria and do not necessarily reflect those of Banco de Portugal, the Bank of England, or the Eurosystem.

On Thursday, October 23, Peter Routledge, Superintendent of Financial Institutions, was interviewed by Bill Coen, the Former Secretary General of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a Toronto Centre Board Member, and Chair of our Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, at Toronto’s National Club.

This timely conversation provided insights into the importance of international cooperation and the future of the financial sector in a shifting landscape. The event also marked the graduation of the first cohort of Toronto Centre’s Certified Financial Supervisor (CFS) designation—the first rigorous, exam-based professional designation for supervisors and regulators in banking, insurance, pensions, and securities. 

Panelists:

Peter Routledge, Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Canada

Moderator:

Bill Coen, Former Secretary General, Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Board Member and Chair, Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, Toronto Centre

Read the transcript here. Read their biographies here. 

Watch the fireside chat here.

This panel took place at the 2025 International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings. 

The convergence of artificial intelligence and digital assets, including cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and stablecoins, is reshaping financial markets through decentralized finance, programmable money, and AI-driven trading strategies. While these developments promise efficiency and innovation, they also raise significant supervisory and financial stability challenges around market integrity, systemic risk, and cross-border oversight.

This panel explored how supervisors can harness AI to analyze blockchain data, monitor cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in real time, and anticipate market stresses, including those stemming from decentralized finance and autonomous smart contracts while addressing emerging risks such as cyber threats, privacy concerns, and regulatory arbitrage. It also considered the skills, tools, and global cooperation needed to future-proof supervisory frameworks as these technologies scale.

Panelists:

Denny H. Kalyalya, Governor, Bank of Zambia

Sarah Breeden, Deputy Governor, Financial Stability, Bank of England

Stefan Ingves, Chair, Toronto Centre

Moderator:

Jay Surti, Division Chief, Financial Supervision and Regulation, IMF

Read the transcript here. Read their biographies here. Listen to the podcast here.

Watch the executive panel here.

This is the second in a two-part podcast series published in partnership with CGAP.

In June 2025, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), issued guidance on Financial Inclusion and Anti-Money Laundering, and Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) measures. FATF recognizes that applying an overly cautious approach to anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, AML/CFT safeguards, can have the unintended consequence of excluding businesses and consumers from the financial system.

The speakers discussed:

• Balancing AML/CFT compliance with financial inclusion
• The potential of RegTech and SupTech to enhance financial inclusion
• The importance of sex-disaggregated data in removing barriers to financial inclusion

Speakers: 

Mehmet Kerse, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP

Louis de Koker, Consultant, CGAP; Professor of Law, La Trobe University, Australia 

Host: 

Richa Goyal, Program Director, Toronto Centre

Read the transcript here. Read their biographies here.

Read the FATF's updated Guidance on Financial Inclusion and Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Measures here.

Listen to the first part of the podcast here.

https://torontocentre.org/

This is the first in a two-part podcast series published in partnership with CGAP.

In June 2025, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), issued guidance on Financial Inclusion and Anti-Money Laundering, and Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) measures. FATF recognizes that applying an overly cautious approach to anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, AML/CFT safeguards, can have the unintended consequence of excluding businesses and consumers from the financial system.

The speakers discussed:

• How proportionality supports financial inclusion
• The complimentary nature of financial inclusion and financial integrity
• The consultation process with international bodies and standard setters

Speakers: 

Ivo Jeník, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP

Louis de Koker, Consultant, CGAP; Professor of Law, La Trobe University, Australia 

Host: 

Richa Goyal, Program Director, Toronto Centre

Read the transcript here. Read their biographies here.

Read the FATF's updated Guidance on Financial Inclusion and Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Measures here.

The second part of this podcast series will be released in September 2025.

https://torontocentre.org/

Geopolitical risks are emerging from multiple sources, with complex, varied, and country-specific effects. Understanding how these geopolitical events will affect supervisory objectives is a challenging task. Supervisory authorities therefore need a clear framework to identify relevant geopolitical events, assess their impact on objectives, and guide an effective response.

This Toronto Centre Note and accompanying podcast provides an overview of an effective assessment framework. It explains each of its elements, explores the tools available for conducting assessments, and outlines how to develop a proactive supervisory response.

Speaker: 

R. Barry Johnston, Program Leader, Toronto Centre

Host: 

Demet Çanakçı, Senior Program Director, Toronto Centre

Read the transcript here. Read their biographies here.

Read the TC Note here.

This was an official virtual side-event of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development.

This executive panel explored adapting supervisory and regulatory frameworks to keep pace with rapid technological change, and the role of central banks and supervisors in accelerating the Sustainable Development Agenda. The conversation highlighted the urgent need for coordinated global approaches and how combatting financial crime and the illicit flow of finances, as well as responsibly leveraging AI, is foundational for a stable digital financial ecosystem. The panelists discussed lessons learned from Kenya’s adoption of mobile money.

Key themes include:

• Building supervisory capacity to respond to fintech and AI innovation
• Cyber resilience and combating financial crime as a prerequisite for achieving sustainable development
• Strengthening the financial sector’s role in supporting climate and sustainability goals
• The importance of collaboration between consumers, industry, and financial regulators and supervisors

Opening Remarks:

Deputy Ian Gorst, Minister for External Relations, Government of Jersey

Panelists:

Socorro Heysen, Board Member, Toronto Centre; Former Superintendent, Banks, Insurance, and Pension Fund Administrators, Peru

Hunter Sims, Associate Director of Business & Operations, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance

Tamara Cook, CEO, Financial Sector Deepening Kenya

Olaf Weber, Professor & CIBC Chair in Sustainable Finance, Schulich School of Business

Moderator:

Babak Abbaszadeh, President and CEO, Toronto Centre

Read the transcript here. Read their biographies here.

Watch the executive panel here.