As we step into July, we’re looking ahead to two forthcoming webinars both focused on environment and sustainability. On 30 July, the Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance presents From Vision to Action: Taiwan’s Sustainable Finance Transformation. Then on 16 September, Dr Giuseppe Brandi from Northeastern University London will present Environmental Data Meets Financial Risk: AI Solutions for a Changing World. Finally, we’d like to share a unique opportunity: a voluntary leadership position has become available at the Maritime Volunteer Service, and the charity is looking for a passionate individual to carry the work forward. If you know someone who might be interested, please do get in touch with them.

Sasha Davis (Manager, FS Club) & The Team at Z/Yen

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Events & Webinars

• Webinars

Crumbling Capital – Fragile Public Spending Foundations Need Rethinking Wednesday, 09 July 2025

An Update On EU Financial Services Regulatory Agenda Thursday, 10 July 2025

From Vision To Action: Taiwan’s Sustainable Finance Transformation Wednesday, 30 July 2025

• Events

S Club Summer Mixer - Can AI Survive Regulation? Tuesday, 01 July 2025

10th Anniversary Reflections Gala Evening Friday, 14 July 2025

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.

FS Club News

Financial Services Commission Mauritius: Mauritius – Advancing ESG in Financial Services: Mauritius is steadily positioning itself as a sustainable international financial centre by integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into its regulatory and market frameworks. As part of its commitment to global sustainability standards, Mauritius is embracing responsible investment practices and strengthening governance across sectors. With initiatives like the Sustainable Finance Framework and green bonds guidelines, Mauritius aims to attract ESG-conscious investors and contribute meaningfully to the sustainable development agenda in Africa and beyond.
The regulatory organisations encourage ESG disclosures, and key institutions are promoting green finance, climate resilience, and social inclusion. In this context, the Disclosure and Reporting Guidelines for ESG Funds (March 2025) have been published for investment businesses so that they provide sufficient information on their ESG strategies and products for investors to make better informed decisions. The Guidelines apply to authorised Collective Investment Schemes and Closed-end Funds which use or include ESG factors as their key investment focus and strategy (‘ESG Schemes’) and are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or other widely accepted goals.

Scottish Financial Enterprise: Scottish industry leaders have set out ambitious plans to unlock growth in Scotland’s globally-renowned asset management sector, with a new asset management strategy.
Asset management was identified as a key engine for growth in the wider Sector Growth Strategy, 18 months ago. This new, focused plan outlines how Scotland’s deep expertise in data, AI, and emerging technologies leaves the asset management sector well placed to drive continued evolution and success.
Scottish asset managers are now increasingly well-positioned to leverage advanced AI capabilities, to deliver sharper investment insights and greater efficiency in operational models.
Asset managers in Scotland are also taking advantage of key strengths in human capital, by leveraging their close links to universities, both for talent and for opportunities for partnership and incubators.

Busan Finance Center: Korea’s new initiative to establish Busan as Maritime Financial Hub:
A meaningful transformation in Busan’s financial landscape may soon take shape. South Korea’s newly inaugurated government has announced its vision to position Busan as a leading maritime financial hub in Northeast Asia integrating shipping, shipbuilding, and maritime finance. Notably, this ambition is supported by three initiatives designed to solidify Busan’s leadership in the sector.
First, Southern Investment Bank is at the core of the legislative proposal currently underway, with plans to establish it in Busan. The bank is strategically positioned to leverage the city’s existing financial infrastructure. Major financial institutions—including the Korea Exchange, and Korea Securities Depository (KSD)—are already clustered forming a concentrated ecosystem of policy and industrial finance. Building on this foundation, the Southern Investment Bank aims to strengthen the link between industrial activity and financial services, enhancing Busan’s capacity to serve as a specialized platform for industrial finance and global capital attraction.
Second, the planned relocation of Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan reflects the city’s growing importance as a control tower for national maritime policy and governance. With the Ministry based in Busan, the government aims to more effectively coordinate strategies across shipbuilding, port operations, Arctic shipping routes and decarbonized maritime technology. The relocation is expected to enhance Busan’s leadership in the maritime sector and align policy direction more closely with on-the-ground industry dynamics. Read the full article here.

Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance: Taiwan’s Financial Liberalization: A Market-Responsive, Government-Led Model (May 2025 Update)
Taiwan is advancing a unique model of financial liberalization—one that is government-led but market-responsive. Through policy easing, institutional coordination, and industry consultation, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) is implementing reforms aimed at strengthening Taiwan’s asset management ecosystem. These include regulatory changes to wealth management, cross-border ETFs, the TISA initiative, and regional asset management zones.
Taiwan’s approach may serve as a reference for mid-sized economies seeking to enhance competitiveness while navigating global uncertainties. The success of this strategy will depend on balancing state guidance with private-sector trust and ensuring effective execution across sectors.
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Dubai International Finance Center: DIFC has published its third Future of Finance report, titled “Emerging Technologies and Finance: AI’s transformative impact on finance and innovation”. Produced in partnership with Asia House, the report explores how AI, blockchain, cloud computing and digital solutions are driving innovation, operational and cost efficiencies, financial inclusion, and sustainable growth for the global financial services industry.
Informed by network-based research and candid discussions with industry leaders, this report uncovers how artificial intelligence and emerging technologies are rewriting the playbook for the global financial services industry. Download your copy here.

Astana International Financial Centre: “Experts from the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) have published an analytical report “Fund Management in Kazakhstan”, which includes a macroeconomic overview of Kazakhstan, a review of the legal framework governing funds under both national and the AIFC regulations, as well as statistical data and fund types. According to the report, as of 1 January 2025, the total assets under management (AUM) of regulated funds in Kazakhstan amounted to USD 1.6 billion. This represents approximately 0.5% of the country’s GDP and is double the figure recorded in 2020. The assets are evenly split between funds under national regulation and those under the AIFC regulation, each accounting for USD 800 million”.

Seoul Fintech Lab: 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.

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Northeastern University London: Ready to advance your career while earning a degree? Northeastern University London’s degree apprenticeships offer a flexible, fully-funded route to gain a university qualification while you work. 
Registration for the September cohort closes 14th August. Click here to book a free consultation with their apprenticeship team to explore which programme fits your career goals.

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GFT Financial Ltd: Latest press release - Wynxx Clears Tech Bottlenecks in Enterprise Software Delivery: Originally launched in 2023 as “AI Impact,” Wynxx was created by GFT to address the real-world pressures facing today’s IT development teams: tighter timelines, increasing complexity, and rising modernisation demands. Purpose-built for enterprise-scale delivery, Wynxx automates time-intensive phases such as planning, testing, documentation, and legacy code transformation. See our LinkedIn post here.
Award win - We’re delighted to celebrate alongside our client Salt Bank, Romania’s first cloud-native digital bank, as they win the best Digital Bank Launch category in the prestigious Celent Model Bank Award 2025! Built by GFT and powered by Engine by Starling, Salt hit 100k users in just 10 days and exceeded 500k in a year, making it one of Romania’s top 10 banks. See our LinkedIn post here.

Bridgeworks: Bridgeworks Decodes WAN and Data Acceleration at Bletchley Park: Eighty years on from V.E Day is a time to commemorate those who fought and died for our freedom. For Bridgeworks, a couple of weeks after this year’s commemorations, it’s also a poignant moment to visit the home of modern British computing at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire – the historic place where visitors can learn about how WWII’s codebreakers helped to secure victory over Nazi Germany by breaking the Enigma code.
Around 35 delegates attended the exclusive partner event, that was also supported by Nuvola Distribution, on 22nd May 2025. Jamie Eykyn, Chairman of Lymington-based Bridgeworks, gave the introduction and comments: “It was delightful to be talking at such an historic venue as Bletchley, which to us is poignant because today we still rely on cryptography to secure data transmissions over Wide Area Networks, and the work of Alan Turing led to modern computing.”
Eykyn served as an Officer in the Grenadier Guards and saw active service in the 1950s. He therefore comments: “It’s extremely relevant to hold an event near to VE Day, and it’s worth noting that Bletchley Park cracked the Japanese code too.” Read the full article here.

Sponsorship Opportunities We currently have opportunities available to partner with Z/Yen as a sponsor for our ongoing research into the development of financial centres. If you may be interested in sponsorship of the Global Green Finance Index or Smart Centres Index, please get in touch with Mike Wardle.

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
Robert McDowall:

How Should QA & QC Processes Work With AI: By Collaboration Or Oversight?

Of Great Interest

Mike Knight:

The Pricing Of Carbon And Energy Transition Decision-Making

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Stirred My Thoughts:

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Grabbed My Attention:

• All In All, We’re Just Another Brick In The Wall

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