Sparkling trees adorn the city, and the aroma of mulled wine fills the chilly air, signalling that December has arrived and Christmas is near. So, it's time to celebrate a successful and enjoyable year. Our Z/Yen elves have worked hard throughout 2024 to deliver 150 webinars, 18 in-person events, and 16 reports and articles. We extend our heartfelt thanks to our sponsors, whose generosity enables us to deliver our programme of events and content. Also a special thanks to you dear reader for reading, watching, and engaging with us throughout the year. It has been a pleasure and we are excited to re-connect with you all in the New Year. Happy holidays!
Charlotte Dawber-Ashley (Manager, FS Club) & The Team at Z/Yen

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Events & Webinars

• Events

A Tour Of The Historic Pubs Of The City Of London Thursday, 30 January 2025

• Webinars

The London Tea Exchange & The Global Fair Pay Charter Thursday, 05 December 2024
Community Chest: The City Of London - The World's Coffee House Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Fixing The Crises In Capitalism & Democracy Thursday, 12 December 2024

• Past Events & Webinars

Towards a Global Financial Hub: Busan International Finance Centre Wednesday, 27 November 2024

The Esop Centre’s newspad, is a monthly publication providing in-depth coverage of the main international news in the field of employee share ownership. Read this month’s newspad in full.

Esop Sofa 2024 Review – Budget & PISCES Wednesday, 18 December 2024

News

On October 28, 2024, during Blockchain Week in Busan, the Busan Digital Asset Exchange (BDAE) officially launched under the brand name ‘BDAN.’ Short for "Busan Digital Asset Nexus," the name embodies the exchange’s mission to foster connections and transform everyday life beyond simple asset transactions. BDAN aims to facilitate the trading of various digital commodities, including exchange certificates backed by gold and silver. BDAN has also launched the Asia Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (ADEA) in partnership with digital exchanges in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia.

Seoul Financial Hub, managed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, is currently inviting esteemed overseas financial institutions to join our global financial epicenter in Yeouido, Seoul. Benefit from exclusive office space, expert consultation on market entry, and unparalleled networking opportunities. Stay ahead with insights into the Korean Financial market. For further details about Seoul Financial Hub, click here. Moreover, a webinar on January 15th, 2025 will be launched by Seoul Metropolitan Government to introduce the Seoul city as a global financial hub and the role of Invest Seoul as a foreign investment agency.

Mauritius Hosts the 3i International Conference: Pioneering Insurance, Investment, and Innovation: Mauritius hosted the 3i International Conference, a landmark event organised by the Insurers Association of Mauritius in November 2024. This global gathering brought together insurance leaders, disruptors, and investors to explore the pivotal themes of Insurance, Investment, and Innovation as essential drivers of resilient societies and sustainable communities. The three-day conference showcased emerging trends from sustainable investment strategies and digital transformation to regulatory advancements and risk management. The conference also fostered collaboration among stakeholders and emphasised the insurance sector's role in shaping a sustainable future. Through dialogue and shared insights, the event reaffirmed Mauritius' commitment to advancing as a premier international financial centre and a hub for for innovation and international connectivity in financial services and insurance.

Northeastern University London, a new FS Club Sponsor, is the European hub of Northeastern's global experiential research university network. With its new state-of-the-art campus across the City of London and Tower Hamlets, the University offers wide-ranging collaborative opportunities for employers at intersections of ethics, finance, technology and AI. Opportunities include flexible degree apprenticeships, student 'co-op' placements, digital skills bootcamps with ServiceNow, insights events, and research and consultancy. With online and on-campus formats, the University helps bridge technological skills gaps within organisations, supporting innovative growth that meets business needs. The University's events and programme portfolio is set to expand across 2025, supported by an award from the Office for Students, including the launch of an Accounting Finance Manager degree apprenticeship in April, designed with the Institute of Financial Accountants. To learn more about this great career development opportunity and how to access apprenticeship funding, you can sign-up here for the upcoming webinar, Strategic Accounting Finance Skills for 2025: How Apprenticeships Elevate Your Team. To learn more about any of Northeastern University London's partner opportunities, you can book a free consultation with a member of their partnerships team here.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Sales May Rise, But So Will Cybercrime: The 7 days after Black Friday 2023 saw online retail sales decline by 1.9%. For the IMRG, the UK eCommerce Association wasn’t far off, predicting a fall of 2% that year. Despite this, it reports that Cyber Monday was the strongest trading day, with a 5.6% year-on-year increase in e-commerce sales – “followed by Tuesday, which also showed positive growth.” IMRG says the challenges that the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period faced included the fact that not everyone would have had their monthly pay cheque. There is also the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, which has impact both e-commerce and in-store retail sales. Yet, there is hope for the 2024 season. Firstly, most people will have been paid by 29th November 2024, which IRMG believes could boost online trading activity, and they predict that Cyber Monday will remain stable. It recommends that retailers use FOMO (fear-of-missing-out) messaging to stimulate sales [...] Read the full article here.

Building a bank in 12 months – download our GFT, Engine by Starling and Salt Bank thought leadership paper GFT, Engine by Starling and Salt Bank put on a highly engaging event to demonstrate how together, we built and launched a bank in 12 months! The launch of Salt Bank emphasises GFT’s global leadership in digital banking on modern platforms and this event proved to be an exciting chance to showcase our remarkable success story which has also received multiple nominations from the Banking Tech Awards 2024. Watch out vox pop video from our event and download our white paper here. GFT and Google Cloud AI now hosting AI event on Thursday 9 January 2025 GFT and Google Cloud are now hosting our exciting AI evening in January 2025 to cover the latest trends and adoption of AI and how it can best achieve business innovation! At the event, industry experts from GFT and Google, plus other partners including Palo Alto Networks will come together at Google offices, London to discuss how AI technology can generate business innovation. Find out more and register here. Take our GFT data maturity assessment. Is your data ready for AI? Find out by taking our GFT data maturity assessment survey! At GFT, we take great pride in our data maturity capabilities and in the way we work with our clients to help them achieve their goals. We would really appreciate your input of your existing situation and where you feel your levels of data maturity currently sit. All qualified respondents to this survey will be offered a full report of our overall findings and a free feedback session with our specialist data team. Take our survey here. GFT taps NVIDIA AI Enterprise and NVIDIA Omniverse platforms to deliver AI solutions for financial services and manufacturing Collaboration leverages open-source models for AI-powered banking chatbots, automated factory operations and more. Read our GFT press release here. Our latest blogs and external articles: Open Source LLMs for Business: Delivering Value, Ensuring Privacy, and Reducing Costs by Aaron Zhao - LINK. Shilpa Doreswamy article on regulatory compliance published in Financial IT - LINK. Teacher-student network architecture by Ioannis Gkiliris - LINK. Comparing frontier LLM performance in finance by Lu Mao on Medium - LINK.

How NayaOne Helps Enterprises Adopt Generative AI: NayaOne simplifies Generative AI adoption for enterprises by offering a platform that delivers comprehensive support at every stage—from experimentation to full-scale implementation. What sets NayaOne apart is its secure sandbox and pre-vetted AI tools that allow enterprises to test, validate, and deploy Gen AI solutions swiftly and safely. By leveraging synthetic data and hands-on learning, NayaOne helps organisations reduce the risk of AI hallucination, bias, and compliance issues, all while fostering innovation. Enterprises can unlock new levels of efficiency, from automating tasks to enhancing decision-making with data-driven insights. With faster time-to-market, NayaOne enables businesses to reduce costs, boost productivity, and deliver personalised customer experiences. Don’t Let Your Competition Leave You Behind. Visit NayaOne today or schedule a consultation to explore how the platform can accelerate your Gen AI adoption and deliver transformative results.

Astana International Financial Centre, GIP Regional Office in Central Asia in cooperation with stakeholders in the region presented a special report on state of sustainable finance in Central Asia. The development of local markets has been facilitated by policy interventions from regulators, stock exchanges, development of local standards and active participation of the private sector. The report highlights these developments, offers a unique vision for international investors to the markets of Central Asia and identifies next steps for further development applicable to other emerging markets.

i2 Group is a world leader in intelligence analysis software. For more than 30 years we have empowered intelligence analysts and investigators to discover, create, and exploit actionable intelligence to identify the perpetrators of criminal activity. This blog demonstrates how i2’s iBase product was used to manage supplier risk for a Billion-Euro Construction Project. iBase was used to prevent and identify potential issues with subcontractors, ensuring timely project completion, high quality standards, and cost savings. The tool is used regularly in risk assessments to help prevent money laundering activities and to classify risks for ongoing projects. Read the article in full here.

Fonepay introduces Nepal’s first virtual credit card with support of Compass Plus Technologies. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 3rd December 2024 – Fonepay, Nepal’s largest interoperable payment network, has unveiled its first virtual credit card, marking a significant milestone in its mission to establish itself as a fully-fledged locally operated payment network in the country. Developed in collaboration with Compass Plus Technologies and its award-winning payments platform, TranzAxis, the innovative service is designed to provide a secure, flexible, and cost-effective digital credit solution for Nepal’s financial institutions, offering a strong local alternative to those offered by international card networks. For more information, please contact Declan Kinsella at PR@compassplustechnologies.com / +44 115 753 0120.

Looking for a unique gift this Christmas? With Carbon Cancellation Certificates from C2Zero, you can give the gift of preventing carbon (CO2e) emissions—for yourself, your loved ones, and the planet. It’s simple: visit carbon.uk.c2zero.net. Starting at under £18 (including VAT) for 200kg of carbon, this gift makes a real difference! Learn more at www.c2zero.net/campaign/c4s-by-c2zero.

The Z/Yen App is now available on iOS and Android

Our new Z/Yen App is the place for FS Club Members to stay informed and engaged with the latest insights from the world of finance, technology, and beyond. With our intuitive app, you can register for upcoming events, dive into our reports, watch recordings of past sessions, and even listen to podcasts on the go.
The app is free for Sponsors and Paid Members of the FS Club - $60 per year. If you have any questions please contact Sasha Davis. Join a community of forward-thinking professionals who are shaping the future of finance and technology. Stay informed, stay connected, and stay inspired with Z/Yen.Scan the code below with your smartphone to download the app:

Z/Yen Launches Ethical AI Course with CISI Register Here

The Chartered Institute For Securities & Investment, in collaboration with Z/Yen Group and Professor Michael Mainelli, have launched a Certificate in Ethical Artificial Intelligence. The short online course deals with the core definitions and global developments in the field of AI, associated ethical dilemmas, and the implications for financial services. Find Out More

The Chartered Institute For ITBCS Foundation Certificate in the Ethical Build of AI This course introduces the key issues in ethical AI and equips you to design and build AI ethically, navigating risks from security to human rights.

Pamphleteers Blog

The Pamphleteers Blog features considered thoughts – somewhere between a knee-jerk editorial and a full-blown piece of research. "Write for today and not for tomorrow."

Made Me Think
Chris Yapp:

Regulation And Competition

Of Great Interest
Professor Michael Mainelli:

New Lands A-Midshore – Dublin & London

FS Club Bulletins - Keep Track Of Your Commercial Interests

FS Club provides up to 1,000 weekly bulletins on a variety of topics from Inflation, to Inter-Bank Lending, to the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. Register here.
Community Finance

Spot Market

Best Of The Finanser

Stirred My Thoughts:

What is the secret sauce of #Revolut’s success?

Grabbed My Attention:

Regulate the regulator

Membership & Sponsorship

FS Club is the premier global executive knowledge network for technology and finance professionals. Great events, research, and social functions build a buzz for Members and a valuable partnership for Sponsors. Membership of the FS Club is a great way to enhance your professional development, grow your network and profile, and get backing for your ideas, contact: sasha_davis@zyen.com