Tag: Regulatory Ramblings

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The PfBCon Podcast

The PFBCon Podcast: Regulatory Ramblings Wins the 2025 Agora Award: Inside the Podcast Bringing Clarity to Global Financial Regulation

At a conference, the 2025 Agora Award for Excellence in Podcasting is formally presented to Regulatory Ramblings, recognizing its role in clarifying complex global financial regulation through expert, long-form dialogue and its contribution to transparency, accountability, and informed public discourse. Host Ajay Shamdasani (a veteran financial and legal journalist and senior research fellow at the University of Hong Kong) discusses the show’s origins—modeled on the idea of telling “the story of money” through the interconnections of law, regulation, finance, and capital—and how its scope has evolved to include ESG, sustainability, inclusion, and geopolitical risk alongside topics like money laundering, sanctions, fraud, crypto/Web3, cybercrime, anti-corruption, and human trafficking.

Ajay outlines the production team and roles (Professor Douglas Arner as team leader with editorial freedom; producer Prospero Laput as the technical backbone; admin support from Neo; research support, including Ying Man Chan) and explains a format change, adding a short topical segment before a longer interview to accommodate audience attention spans while keeping conversations authentic. The discussion also covers the podcast’s growing global reach through the Compliance Podcast Network, increased inbound guest and collaboration requests, listener feedback on episodes about U.S. regulatory shifts (including the FCPA, AML enforcement, and the GENIUS Act), and how the show anchors global issues back to Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific. Ajay reflects on the emotional impact of the human trafficking episode with Matt Friedman and comments on Hong Kong’s regulatory and fintech landscape versus Singapore and Dubai, the role and reputation of HKU Law, and broader themes of shifting global power centers, sanctions, and managed globalization. The episode closes with Ajay’s view that podcasting can be a public service that spreads ideas, builds awareness of institutions and research, and creates opportunities for collaboration.

Key highlights:

  • Agora Award Announcement: 2025 Excellence in Podcasting
  • Why They Won: “We’re Still Here” and Hong Kong’s Global Role
  • Origin Story & Mission: Telling the Story of Money (and Everything Connected)
  • Behind the Mic: Who Does What on the Show
  • Format Evolution: Spotlight Segments, Audience Attention, and Editorial Choices
  • Toughest Topics: Human Trafficking Episode and the Emotional Toll
  • HKU’s Role: Hong Kong’s Legal Education Powerhouse
  • Hong Kong Finance Today: FinTech, Crypto Rules, and Traditional Banking Reality
  • Growing the Audience: Compliance Podcast Network, Brand Awareness, and Listener Impact
  • Covering a Region (and the World): Balancing Local Hong Kong Anchors with Global News
  • US–China Thaw? Decoupling, Trade Realities, and What Comes Next
  • Why Professionals Should Podcast: Influence, Public Service, and Collaboration

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The 2025 Agora Award: How Regulatory Ramblings Is Changing the World One Podcast Episode at a Time

When the Compliance Podcast Network (CPN) launched the Agora Awards for Excellence in Business Podcasting in 2024, the goal was simple yet profound: to honor voices that move the compliance and ethics profession forward. Named for the ancient Greek agora, the public square where citizens once gathered to exchange ideas, debate policy, and shape civic life, the award celebrates podcasters who use their platform to transform conversation into change. In a world where ethics, regulation, and governance intersect more visibly than ever before, the Agora Award recognizes those who elevate discourse and inspire integrity.

The inaugural 2024 award went to Mary Shirley and Lisa Fine, co-founders of the Compliance Podcast Network and hosts of Great Women in Compliance (GWIC). Their groundbreaking show spotlighted the achievements of women across the compliance profession, transforming individual stories into a collective movement for inclusion, mentorship, and leadership.

But as important as all that was and continues to be today, their work redefined what a compliance podcast could be: not just a vehicle for information, but a community where authenticity and purpose meet. What started as a LinkedIn group evolved into conference appearances, roundtables, and is now a full-blown annual conference on Women in Compliance. In short, Lisa Fine and Mary Shirley changed the world through their podcast.

They set the bar for the Agora Award very high indeed.

A New Voice for a Global Dialogue

“We’re still here.” -Ajay Shamdasani

With that comment, Ajay Shamdasani provided one of the most important reasons for a podcast on business and regulatory issues. It also speaks directly to the power of podcasting. In 2025, the Agora Award torch passed to Regulatory Ramblings, a podcast that has taken the global conversation on law, regulation, and ethics to new heights. Produced with intellectual rigor and deep curiosity, Regulatory Ramblings exemplifies the power of podcasting to bridge the gap between academia, policy, and practice. It does not simply explain rules; it explores the reasons behind them, the people affected by them, and the unintended consequences that ripple through society.

The team behind Regulatory Ramblings represents an interdisciplinary powerhouse dedicated to thought leadership and accessible scholarship. Professor Douglas Arner serves as the team leader, guiding the show’s intellectual vision with his trademark clarity and depth of understanding in global financial regulation and fintech. Pros Laput, the producer, ensures that each episode flows seamlessly from concept to conversation, marrying technical excellence with creative storytelling. Ying Ming Chan, the research assistant, brings academic precision to every topic, helping the team distill complex legal frameworks into insights that listeners can apply in their own work. Finally, the host and showrunner bring it all together. A longtime journalist in APAC, he brings a sharp interviewing style, journalistic instincts, and a global perspective, creating the connective tissue between expert guests and an engaged audience.

Turning Regulation Into Storytelling

What sets Regulatory Ramblings apart is its ability to humanize regulation. Rather than treating law and compliance as static frameworks, each episode explores the living, breathing world of policy as it affects individuals, businesses, and nations. Whether unpacking the evolution of digital finance, exploring sustainable governance, or examining the ethical dimensions of emerging technologies, the show approaches each issue with balance, curiosity, and conscience.

Listeners find themselves drawn not just to the content but also to the cadence of conversation—a blend of academic inquiry and practical insight that makes complex regulatory debates accessible without losing nuance. The result is a podcast that educates as it empowers, cultivating a new generation of professionals who view regulation not as an obstacle but as a tool for building trust, stability, and fairness in markets worldwide.

The Spirit of the Agora Lives On

The Agora Award is designed to celebrate precisely this kind of transformative impact. Just as Great Women in Compliance gave voice to the personal and professional journeys that define the ethics community, Regulatory Ramblings demonstrates that regulation, too, has a human story. It reminds us that at the heart of every compliance framework is a question of values: how do we balance innovation with accountability, freedom with fairness, and progress with protection?

By fostering thoughtful dialogue on these questions, Regulatory Ramblings continues the Agora tradition of turning discourse into purpose. In an era when soundbites dominate the digital landscape, the show offers something rare: a space for reflection, understanding, and critical engagement. It’s not simply about what the rules say, but why they matter and how they evolve.

Voices that Shape the Future

As we look to the future of compliance and governance, Regulatory Ramblings stands as a testament to the power of collaboration and intellect. Professor Arner’s leadership anchors the show in academic rigor; Laput’s production craft transforms scholarship into story; Chan’s research deepens every discussion; and Shamdasani’s voice connects global listeners to the pulse of regulatory innovation. Together, they exemplify the best of what podcasting can achieve when it merges substance with storytelling.

The 2025 Agora Award not only honors Regulatory Ramblings for excellence in production and impact, but it also recognizes the show’s role in advancing the global conversation about ethics, regulation, and the public good. The conversations on the pod range globally, from APAC to the MENA, EU, and US, but it is a Hong Kong-based podcast that continually reminds us that Hong Kong is still here. In doing so, it reinforces what the Agora has always stood for: open dialogue, intellectual courage, and the belief that conversation can lead to transformation.

For the compliance and governance community, that message resonates deeply. Because in the end, as Regulatory Ramblings so brilliantly demonstrates, the real power of podcasting is not simply in talking; it is in changing the way we think.

Resources

Presentation of the Agora Award at the 2025 Podcasting for Business Conference. Click here for information and registration. The event is at no charge. The Agora Award will be presented to Ajay Shamdasani at 11:15 AM on Tuesday, November 11. Immediately thereafter, I will be in conversation with Ajay about Regulatory Ramblings and the significance of the award to the team.

Check out Regulatory Ramblings on the Compliance Podcast Network.

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Regulatory Ramblings

Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 69 – Human Intelligence vs. Machine Judgment  with Nigel Morris-Cotterill and Patrick Dransfield

This episode of Regulatory Ramblings is a little different from what we usually do as we explore the ways technology, particularly computers and, more specifically, artificial intelligence (AI), can either improve the human condition and help us achieve our highest goals and ideals or just be an uncaring, unreasoning, and, as some might say, psychopathic hindrance.
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Today’s guests, Patrick Dransfield and Nigel Morris-Cotterill, explore artificial intelligence’s cultural, ethical, and professional implications. Patrick Dransfield examines Eastern versus Western perspectives and legal innovation, while Nigel Morris-Cotterill cautions against entrusting emotionless algorithms with life-changing choices.
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In our initial spotlight segment, we discuss Patrick’s recently written article on AI and human intelligence, “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace.” Following that, we chatted with Nigel about his recent article for LinkedIn, “Computers are Mechanized Psychopaths.”

Patrick M. Dransfield

Patrick M. Dransfield is a principal at Clearway Communications and a business development manager at Mouannes International Specialized Consultants (UAE).
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He also holds a master’s degree in Chinese History, Politics, and anthropology from SOAS, University of London, and a BA (Joint Hons.) in English and History of Art from Leeds University. He is a senior business executive in legal business development.
He is also a qualified trainer, author, and photographer based in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital. He co-founded the Managing Partners’ Club, an international, by-invitation group of senior lawyers across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
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Patrick’s career includes serving as Asia-Pacific marketing director for international law firms Shearman & Sterling and White & Case, managing director of Asia Law & Practice, Asia Publisher of IFLR, and Hong Kong-based subsidiary Euromoney (Jersey) Limited board member.

Nigel Morris-Cotterill

Nigel Morris-Cotterill was previously a solicitor in London. Throughout his career, he dealt with various matters, including contracts, property, company law, litigation, international trade, criminal law, intellectual property, family law, and financial services compliance.
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In 1994, he brought all those areas together to address a new field: financial crime risk and compliance. As a strategist, he identifies and discusses trends long before they become fashionable.

Nigel is the author of “How Not to Be a Money Launderer,” which in 1996 described all the areas that would, in some cases, decades later, become topics for international groups and regulators to prioritize. He also authored the only book on Understanding Suspicion in Financial Crime.
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Additionally, he has written a book for families and others to help start discussions about online safety and fraud for young people and the elderly.

Nigel also provides training and consultancy services. However, he admits to becoming jaded by the prevalence of superficiality and a lack of attention to the fundamentals. Since the 1980s, when he first encountered technology in earnest, he has cautioned against the trend of so-called “artificial intelligence,” frequently pointing out its shortcomings in even the most basic tasks.

Discussion:

Today’s podcast begins with a spotlight conversation between Patrick and our host, Ajay Shamdasani, on what compelled him to write a piece on human intelligence and AI – especially given that he is a veteran legal services marketing and business development maven and not a techie with a STEM background. As Patrick explains, his motivation to pen the article stemmed from his interest in the world’s major religions and their spiritual and philosophical views on human nature and the idea of the self. The chat ends with Patrick sharing his views on AI and the legal profession.

We then shift to a discussion with Nigel on his recent LinkedIn article, and he stresses that the title of his piece is not intended to be clickbait but a sincere warning. His key point is that you cannot reason with a computer; they do not care about their intended users and frustrations. To that end, he offers the following definition of psychopathy from Psychology Today: “Psychopathy is a condition characterized by the absence of empathy and the blunting of other affective states. Callousness, detachment, and a lack of empathy enable psychopaths to be highly manipulative.”

He and Ajay flesh out what that means in practical terms to often exasperated and baffled users of modern IT. They discuss computing technology at a crossroads, whether empathy can be written into algorithms and, ultimately – what it means for those in legal and compliance circles.

Regulatory Ramblings podcasts is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong—Reg/Tech Lab, HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in Fintech, with support from the HKU Faculty of Law.

Useful links in this episode:

You might also be interested in:

Connect with RR Podcast at:

LinkedIn: https://hk.linkedin.com/company/hkufintech 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hkufintech.fb/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hkufintech/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HKUFinTech 
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hkufintech
Website: https://www.hkufintech.com/regulatoryramblings 

Connect with the Compliance Podcast Network at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/compliance-podcast-network/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/compliancepodcastnetwork/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CompliancePodcastNetwork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tfoxlaw
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voiceofcompliance/
Website: https://compliancepodcastnetwork.net

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Regulatory Ramblings

Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 68 – Why Geopolitical Risk Matters to Compliance and Legal Staff with Mark Nuttal and Chad Olsen

This episode focuses on how compliance and legal staff must incorporate geostrategic risk considerations into their advice and recommendations.
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In our initial Regulatory Ramblings Spotlight segment, we chat with Chad Olsen of KPMG China about what professionals in Hong Kong, Greater China, and the region need to know about such considerations.
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Following that, we speak with Mark Nuttall, an executive advisor and strategic deal facilitator in Dubai, for a more Middle Eastern perspective.

Chad Olsen

Chad Olsen is based in Hong Kong, where he is the head of forensic services for KPMG China. In that capacity, he oversees matters involving white-collar investigations, anti-money laundering, sanctions and trade controls, fraud, and disputes and arbitration.
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Before his current role, Chad was a partner at Deloitte and the head of financial crime. He was also the head of the financial crime intelligence unit at Standard Chartered Bank.

Professionally, he is a Chartered Accountant in Australia and New Zealand. Chad also holds two undergraduate degrees from Curtin University. Relevant to today’s discussion, his focus areas were accounting, finance, political science, and sociology.

 

Mark Nuttal

Mark Nuttal is an executive, geopolitical advisor, and strategic deal facilitator in Dubai. With over 25 years of experience in strategic leadership, risk management, and business development, he has held roles at the London Metropolitan Police Service, Thomson Reuters, INTERPOL, and Hill & Associates. He also founded the Faustus Consultancy.
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He offers executive advisory services across Asia-Pacific, MENA, and Europe, aiming to drive growth, optimize operations, generate deals, and enhance governance.

When it comes to risk management and governance, Mark has implemented plans focused on risk mitigation and resilience while improving governance standards. He has also managed complex investigations and multi-agency operations.
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Regarding subject matter expertise, he has delivered advisory services on governance, compliance, risk reduction, finance, leadership, geopolitics, AML, resilience, security, and ESG. Mark has also provided keynote speeches and mentorship to C-suite and geopolitical audiences.

Discussion:

The hasty U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 under the Biden administration—and the fallout that followed—along with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the ongoing war, have created inflationary pressures in international oil, gas, and food prices, roiled global markets, and deeply hurt the economies of Western Europe, deprived of cheap Russian fuel.

One thing is certain—it has spurred a deep interest in concepts such as geostrategy, also known as geopolitics. What in an earlier age might have been called political and economic risk analysis and regarded as the remit of social scientists—economists, political scientists, and international relations specialists—is now relevant to a wider range of professions.

Most professions and organizations are increasingly finding the need to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving because, in the modern world, myopia and compartmentalization can be fatal. In-house general counsel and compliance staff at banking and financial institutions and multinational corporations need to be cognizant of geostrategic risk factors when advising those they report to.

With that backdrop, Chad speaks with Regulatory Ramblings host Ajay Shamdasani on why geostrategic and political risk analysis should matter to the modern compliance officer and lawyer—and, ultimately, their clients. It’s no longer just about giving advice based on rules and regulations; at most multinational corporations and financial institutions, a more interdisciplinary approach is required to keep pace with broader world developments.

The conversation covers what professionals can do to become more knowledgeable about geopolitical risk, what types of remedial education may be needed, and whether it might make sense to hire a political scientist, international relations specialist, or war/security/strategic studies specialist and place them in a compliance or legal department.

“Keep up with the news from multiple reputable sources” is Chad’s key advice.

Similarly, Mark stresses greater awareness of world events by compliance, legal, and risk professionals. Given his law enforcement background, he places a great deal of emphasis on total situational awareness.

Mark also shares his personal, professional, and educational journey—recounting a time when he was homeless and had absolutely nothing. That experience made him keenly aware of the risks people are willing to take to survive—a lesson today’s political and business leaders would do well to learn.

Coming from a humble background—and never forgetting where he came from—Mark explains how geostrategic and political risk analysis enters the equation when advising family offices in Asia and the Middle East.

Regulatory Ramblings podcasts is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong—Reg/Tech Lab, HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in Fintech, with support from the HKU Faculty of Law.

Useful links in this episode:

You might also be interested in:

Connect with RR Podcast at:

LinkedIn: https://hk.linkedin.com/company/hkufintech 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hkufintech.fb/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hkufintech/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HKUFinTech 
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hkufintech
Website: https://www.hkufintech.com/regulatoryramblings 

Connect with the Compliance Podcast Network at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/compliance-podcast-network/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/compliancepodcastnetwork/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CompliancePodcastNetwork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tfoxlaw
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voiceofcompliance/
Website: https://compliancepodcastnetwork.net

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Regulatory Ramblings

Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 66 – The U.S. Strategic Reserve and the Emerging Multipolar Crypto World + Recent Developments in US Virtual Asset Regulation with Henri Arslanian and Andrew Fei

The overarching theme of this episode is US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement that the country would create a bitcoin reserve—a veritable Fort Knox-style depository comprised of several select cryptocurrencies. 

In our initial Spotlight segment, we’ll chat with Andrew Fei, a Hong Kong-based partner with the law firm King & Wood Mallesons, about developments in digital asset regulations in the US and what they mean for our region. 

Following that, we will have a lengthier chat with the doyen of all things Bitcoin and FinTech, Henri Arslanian, in Dubai about what the Trump administration’s actions towards virtual assets will mean for the Middle East and the world more broadly, from markets and policy perspectives.

Henri Arslanian

Henri Arslanian is the co-founder and managing partner of Nine Blocks Capital Management, one of the largest institutional-grade crypto hedge funds globally and the first crypto hedge fund to be licensed by Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority. He is also the Host of The Future of Money podcast.

Henri is an author, speaker, educator, and arguably one of the foremost fintech experts and evangelists. He is a TEDx and global keynote speaker, a best-selling published author, and regularly featured in global media, including Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and the Financial Times.

His first book, “The Future of Finance: The Impact of FinTech, AI, and Crypto on Financial Services” (2019), was published by Palgrave Macmillan and ranked among Amazon’s global top 10 bestsellers in financial services, in addition to being recognized as one of the “Best FinTech Books of All Time” by Bookauthority.
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Henri is also an adjunct professor at HKU, where he teaches the world’s first university-level FinTech course. He advises many of the world’s leading crypto exchanges, investors, financial institutions, and tech firms on their FinTech and crypto initiatives, as well as numerous governments, regulators, and central banks on FinTech and crypto regulatory and policy matters.

He was previously PwC’s crypto leader and partner and is a former chairman of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong. Prior to joining PwC, Henri worked for a FinTech start-up and spent many years with UBS Investment Bank in Hong Kong. He started his career as a financial markets and funds lawyer in Canada and Hong Kong and speaks five languages: English, French, Armenian, Spanish, and Mandarin.

Andrew Fei

Andrew Fei has over 15 years of experience in financial regulation, digital assets, fintech, structured finance, syndicated loans, and debt capital markets. Based in Hong Kong, he has been with the law firm of King & Wood Mallesons for a decade and is currently a partner.

Andrew has advised many major financial institutions, corporations, and fintech companies on a wide range of innovative cross-border tokenization and digital asset transactions, structured finance and derivatives transactions, close-out netting and collateral arrangements, syndicated financing transactions, Basel III regulatory capital instruments, securities financing transactions, financial regulatory matters, as well as digital asset-related transactions and arrangements.

He has been quoted as an expert on various topics in the international press, including the Financial Times, New York Times, International Financial Law Review, Risk.net, and South China Morning Post.

Andrew holds a master of laws degree from Harvard Law School and a double 1st class honors bachelor of laws degree from Cambridge University, where he was ranked second. He is qualified to practice law in New York and Hong Kong. In addition to his full-time legal practice, Andrew teaches banking law at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law.

Discussion:

The episode opens with Andrew Fei discussing recent US crypto regulatory developments. Then, Henri Arslanian, a leading voice in global crypto circles, shares his insights on the Trump administration’s decision to establish a cryptocurrency strategic reserve of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Cardano. “This really may start paving the way for other countries to look at potentially acquiring Bitcoin as part of their strategic… their basket of reserves,” he said, referring to the ripple effect the US reserve move could have on global sovereign crypto adoption.

In the Spotlight segment, Andrew discusses with Regulatory Ramblings host Ajay Shamdasani the implications of recent US regulatory developments for Asia, the Middle East, and the rest of the world, such as the GENIUS Act and the recent White House Crypto Summit in Washington, DC.

Henri then shares his thoughts on the Trump administration’s decision to create a reserve composed of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Cardano. While acknowledging it is a significant step forward for crypto, he said the move is not without criticism because it begs why certain virtual assets were chosen for the reserve and not others.

Reflecting on the 2024 US Presidential Election, Henri stressed that concerns over which party would be friendlier to the industry were partly why the recent US presidential election swung in Donald Trump’s favor. For many single-issue voters, the future of digital currencies was their paramount concern. In that sense, it could be said that 2024 was the election that the crypto bros bought.

Henri also shares his thoughts on what it means for the rest of the world if the US creates its crypto reserve, stating that the entry of institutional and sovereign players hints at a more distributed global adoption trend.

While the idea of a strategic reserve for critical assets or commodities is not new, it is curious why President Trump did so now when he was vehemently against crypto during his first term (2017-21). The popular press has suggested that Silicon Valley power players such as Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Elon Musk helped Trump change his mind and bring him around to the cause.

As Henri wrote in a recent piece on LinkedIn, “We should expect criticism—rightly so—regarding how the included coins were selected for this reserve. Bitcoin makes complete sense. One could also argue for ETH and perhaps SOL. However, the inclusion of XRP and ADA will likely be questioned.”

Solana and Ethereum are two platforms used by many American firms, including important companies like Visa and Blackrock.

As Henri noted in his recent article, the presidential action prohibited the purchase of additional crypto without a specific executive or legislative action. Simply put: “The U.S. is not going to buy new Bitcoin but rather keep the 200,000 BTC it already holds mainly via the seizure of Silk Road assets and the recovery of the Bitfinex hack.”

Moreover, mainland China purportedly holds around 190,000 Bitcoins, primarily acquired through its 2019 seizure from the PlusToken Ponzi scheme, and the UK allegedly owns 60,000 seized Bitcoins.

Regulatory Ramblings podcasts is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong – Reg/Tech Lab, HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in Fintech, with support from the HKU Faculty of Law.

Useful links in this episode:

  • Follow Henri Arslanian on LinkedIn

  • Nine Blocks Capital Management: Webpage

  • Book: The Future of Finance: The Impact of FinTech, AI, and Crypto on Financial Services, available at: Amazon

  • Follow Andrew Fei on LinkedIn

  • King & Wood Mallesons: Webpage

You might also be interested in:

Connect with RR Podcast at:

LinkedIn: https://hk.linkedin.com/company/hkufintech 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hkufintech.fb/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hkufintech/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HKUFinTech 
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hkufintech
Website: https://www.hkufintech.com/regulatoryramblings 

Connect with the Compliance Podcast Network at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/compliance-podcast-network/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/compliancepodcastnetwork/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CompliancePodcastNetwork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tfoxlaw
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voiceofcompliance/
Website: https://compliancepodcastnetwork.net

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Regulatory Ramblings

Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 65 – The Trump Administration’s Decision to Halt FCPA Enforcement – The Implications for Asia and the World with  Tom Fox, Malcolm Nance, and Philip Rohlik 

This episode discusses the recent executive order signed by US President Donald J. Trump instructing the Department of Justice to halt enforcement of the decades-old, much-dreaded Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) pending a one-year review. In our initial “Regulatory Ramblings Spotlight” segment, we speak with Philip Rohlik, an American attorney in mainland China with the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, to get a sense of what the president’s decision means for Hong Kong and the broader Asia-Pacific.

Following that, we have a longer chat on the global implications of President Trump’s move with Tom Fox, a veteran compliance and anti-corruption lawyer, noted FCPA specialist, and podcaster, and Malcolm Nance, a former US naval intelligence officer, counterterrorism specialist, and author.

Philip Rohlik

Philip Rohlik is counsel in Debevoise & Plimpton LLP’s Shanghai office. He is a member of the firm’s White Collar & Regulatory Defense and International Dispute Resolution Groups, and his practice focuses on international investigations, securities law, and dispute resolution. He is recognized by “The Legal 500 Asia Pacific—Greater China” (2024-2025) for his anti-corruption and compliance practice and has been described as “very thorough, “hands-on,” and “excellent investigation lawyer.”

Based in Asia since 2011, Philip leads the firm’s dispute resolution team in Shanghai. He joined Debevoise in 2000, having received his J.D. Magna Cumlaude from the New York University School of Law that same year. He received a B.A. Summa Cum Laude with honors from St. Louis University in 1997.

Tom Fox

Tom Fox is based in West Texas and is a prominent member of the compliance community and one of the most well-known legal practitioners regarding the FCPA. Over the past 15 years, he has been a general counsel and chief compliance officer. He is now an independent consultant, assisting companies with anti-corruption, anti-bribery compliance, and international transaction issues.

He is also the author of the award-winning FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog and the international best-selling book Lessons Learned on Compliance and Ethics. His podcasts have won numerous W3, Davey, Communicator, and Webby awards for podcasting excellence.

Tom is the author of the seminal text “The Compliance Handbook,” now in its 5th edition published by LexisNexis. In addition to his blog and podcast, he is a columnist for “Corporate Compliance Insights” and a contributing editor to the “FCPA Blog.” He is a well-known and frequent speaker on compliance and ethics issues, social media use, and corporate leadership.

Malcolm Nance

Malcolm Nance is based in upstate New York. He is a 20-year veteran of the US Navy, where he was an intelligence officer, cryptographer, and Russian and Arab language specialist. As a master chief, he was responsible for discipline throughout the ranks.
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He is best known for his appearances on MSNBC, where he warned about Russian interference in the run-up to the 2016 and 2020 US Presidential elections. Malcolm is also a best-selling author, with his books “The Plot to Hack America,” “The Plot to Destroy Democracy,” “The Plot to Betray America,” and most recently “They Want to Kill Americans,” all of which are well worth reading. Given the radical actions of the second Trump administration, his two most recent books seem eerily prescient. You can discover more from Malcolm at his Substack and his “Black Man Spy” podcast on YouTube.

Discussion:

Three weeks after returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 10 directing the Justice Department to pause prosecutions of Americans accused of bribing foreign government officials while trying to win or retain business in their countries.

Trump’s order pauses enforcement of the nearly half-century-old Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to review current and past actions related to the law and prepare new guidelines for enforcement.

The law, enacted in 1977, prohibits companies that operate in the United States from bribing foreign officials. Over time, it has become a guiding force for how American businesses operate overseas.

“It’s going to mean a lot more business for America,” Trump told reporters while signing the order in the Oval Office at the signing.

Interestingly enough, Trump wanted to strike down the FCPA during his first term in office, calling it a “horrible law” and claiming it made the US the subject of the world’s ridicule and derision.

Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International said the FCPA made the US a world leader in addressing corruption.

Trump’s executive order “minimizes—and could pave the way for eliminating—the crown jewel in the U.S.’s fight against global corruption,” Gary Kalman, executive director of Transparency International US, said in a statement.

The White House factsheet said that in 2024, the Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission filed 26 FCPA-related enforcement actions, and by year-end, at least 31 companies were under investigation.

In the initial segment, Philip Rohlik chats with “Regulatory Ramblings” host Ajay Shamdasani about what the Trump administration’s actions will mean for the fight against bribery and corruption in Hong Kong, Greater China, and APAC writ large. They discuss the possibility that with less FCPA enforcement, the UK Bribery Act (2010) might fill the void to some extent, while acknowledging that the British Serious Fraud Office lacks the resources of the USDOJ to make extraterritorial enforcement a reality.

Philip also shares his advice on what he would tell compliance officers and in-house/general counsel at banking or financial institutions or major corporations in Hong Kong, Singapore, or Beijing. Hint: Now is not the time to relax.

We then turn to the longer conversation portion of the broadcast, where we examine some of the more global, macro-level effects of President Trump’s recent executive order.

Tom and Malcolm shared their visceral responses when they first heard the announcement that the administration would halt FCPA enforcement. Tom asks why Trump took so long because he had raised similar concerns during his first term (2017-21).

They share their concerns about what it will mean for the global fight against bribery and corruption while acknowledging the limitations of the UK Bribery Act. Still, mainland China’s anti-corruption legislation is worth considering as well.

The conversation concludes with Malcolm and Tom advising the legal and compliance professionals serving financial firms and multinational corporations in Asia, the Middle East, and the world more generally. They concur that now is not the time to slack off regarding anti-graft efforts.

They conclude that the FCPA is still a powerful tool. Given the current president’s vindictive and transactional nature, we might expect selective enforcement of the Act under his administration. Indeed, given past experience, it might be inevitable.

Regulatory Ramblings podcasts is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong – Reg/Tech Lab, HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in Fintech, with support from the HKU Faculty of Law.

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Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 64 – Building Inclusion Through Sustainable Leadership / The EU Omnibus Proposal with Janet Ledger and Dr. Inna Amesheva

The overarching theme of today’s episode is Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives. In our initial spotlight segment, we speak with Dr. Inna Amesheva of ESG Book in Frankfurt about the growing calls to simplify Europe’s ESG rules.

Following that, we chatted with Janet Ledger, chief executive officer of Community Business, a Hong Kong-based non-governmental organization (NGO), about how ESG can advance the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Dr. Inna Amesheva is the director and head of ESG Regulatory Solutions at ESG Book in Frankfurt, Germany. In that capacity, she leads the group’s regulatory solutions offerings, focusing on implementing the EU’s Sustainable Finance Action Plan (including regulations such as SFDR and the EU Taxonomy), following SEC Climate recommendations, and following major international developments in the field of sustainability regulation.

She oversees the maintenance of a comprehensive database of global ESG regulatory developments and is also co-chair of the company’s Thought Leadership Committee.

ESG Book was incubated by Arabesque in 2018. It combines cutting-edge technology and proprietary research. ESG Book’s wide range of cloud-based sustainability products and solutions is used by many of the world’s leading financial organizations, which collectively manage over $120 trillion.

The company has offices in London, Frankfurt, Boston, Singapore, Delhi, and Tokyo and serves clients worldwide from offices in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Inna is also an HKU alumnus, having attained her PhD in law from our Faculty of Law.

Janet Ledger is the CEO of Community Business, a renowned and active Hong Kong-based NGO specializing in DE&I in Asia.

With over four decades of work experience, she has built a successful career as a senior leader in multiple fields. A native of Brisbane, Australia, Janet came to Hong Kong in 2015 and joined Community Business as its chief operating officer in 2019. Before that, she specialized in strategic business planning, program management, corporate governance, change management, organizational effectiveness, and talent development.

Her true talents, however, lie in strategic leadership, organizational development, and fostering inclusive environments. She leads Community Business in its mission to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion across Asia. She works with teams to open communication channels, develop talent, and create inclusive environments that drive organizational success.

Janet holds a Bachelor of Psychological Sciences from Swinburne University of Technology and an Advanced Diploma in Program and Project Management. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, an alumnus of The Women’s Foundation Mentoring Programme of Hong Kong, and a member of the 30% Club of Hong Kong Steering Committee.

Discussion: A recent article from Bloomberg (linked below) stated that a growing European chorus is seeking more simplified ESG rules. To that end, a group called the Platform on Sustainable Finance advises the European Commission to change its taxonomy. The concern is that current ESG rules are complicated and of limited use.

The episode commences with a brief conversation between Dr. Inna Amesheva and Regulatory Ramblings host Ajay Shamdasani about the Platform on Sustainable Finance, which is seeking substantial changes to rules for corporate reporting of sustainable business activities. Specifically, it wants the European Union’s Taxonomy Regulation to be revised to make it easier for companies to decide which metrics are material to report.

Inna shares her thoughts on the regulation, which was adopted in 2020 and has been characterized by some companies as overly complicated and of limited use.

They go on to discuss the platform’s position that the changes would reduce the reporting burden for non-financial companies by roughly 33% and lead to a significant simplification for financial institutions. Of course, the devil is in the details, and it remains to be seen if such claims are hyperbole or would, in fact, make it easier for EU corporations to comply.

Inna also explains the platform’s contention that corporate reporting burdens could be eased by making some data voluntary and simplifying disclosure templates. Yet, at a time when many stress the importance of greater transparency, making some data voluntary might lead to less disclosure.

The conversation concludes with whether the recommended changes for calculating the so-called green-asset ratio—which measures banks’ investments in sustainable businesses—will dilute standards. It is worth adding that many public interest groups in Europe object to lower ESG standards. ​

Following that, in our longer segment, we speak with Janet Ledger, CEO of Community Business, a Hong Kong-based NGO that is one of the city’s most renowned and active, on how ESG can drive forward the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion, better known by the acronym DEI.

Janet tells us a little bit about herself, her background, upbringing, education, and professional path. She recounts that she was blessed with a forward-thinking father who empowered and encouraged her at an early age and was not affected by the biases of his generation, which sometimes led to an unfair division of labor based on gender.

She also describes what brought her to community business and when she became interested in ESG and DEI. Janet strongly believes ESG can be used to achieve DEI’s goals and stresses that there are deep links between the two and synergies to be had.

The conversation wraps up with Janet sharing her thoughts on the backlash against DEI in recent years, particularly in Corporate America.

Regulatory Ramblings podcasts is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong – Reg/Tech Lab, HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in Fintech, with support from the HKU Faculty of Law.

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Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 63 – Reflections of a Compliance Officer/Legal and Compliance Hiring Trends in 2025 (Hong Kong) with Brian Yeung, Kirsty Crean, and Raoul Montgomery

As the theme of this episode is compliance, we first hear from Raoul Montgomery and Kirsty Crean of executive search and recruitment firm Arion House in Hong Kong about hiring trends in the legal and compliance space post-Chinese New Year. It is when many professionals decide to pursue new roles and, sometimes, entirely new careers. Following that is a chat with Brian Yeung, Interactive Brokers’ Hong Kong-based general counsel and head of compliance for APAC.

Kirsty Crean is a director with Arion House in Hong Kong. A top-tier provider of executive search and market intelligence services, specializing in regulatory compliance, ESG governance, financial crime compliance, legal, and risk management, the firm also has a presence in London.

​Having read Criminology at Northumbria University in the UK, Kirsty’s search career began in 2015 when she started working for a boutique firm in London, placing senior legal and compliance professionals across banks, hedge funds, asset management firms, and brokers. She moved to Hong Kong in 2018 and joined Arion House in 2023 as a director covering the regional compliance market.

Raoul Montgomery has been a research consultant with Arion House since September 2019 and focuses on markets in the Asia-Pacific region. He joined after attaining a bachelor of arts degree in history with politics and public administration from the University of Hong Kong, where he is currently also pursuing a law degree.

Having worked with a number of non-governmental organizations, he is fluent in English, Hindi, and Spanish.

Brian Yeung is Interactive Brokers’ general counsel and head of compliance for the Asia Pacific region. Based in Hong Kong, it is a role he has held for over four and a half years. He has been with the firm for almost 12 years since 2013, starting off as its head of legal and compliance for APAC (excluding Japan).

Prior to that, Brian was Institnet’s APAC legal and compliance manager in Hong Kong, and before that, he was head of compliance for Australia for BGC Partners based in Sydney.

Having grown up in Hong Kong, he attended Yew Chung International School before pursuing an undergraduate degree in commerce, accounting, and finance at the University of New South Wales. He ultimately attained his juris doctor degree from Sydney’s University of Technology. A solicitor, he is admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

Discussion:

A month and a half into 2025, and with the Lunar New Year behind us as well, many in places like Hong Kong customarily wait until they receive their customary Chinese New Year bonuses before tendering their resignation letters to seek better pay, seniority, prestige, greater responsibility, or simply more satisfaction with other employers—and the legal and compliance space is no different.

In that spirit, today’s episode commences with a spotlight segment where Kirsty and Raoul share their thoughts on hiring trends in the legal and compliance space in Hong Kong and, to some degree, Singapore and the APAC region more generally post-Chinese New Year. They share with Regulatory Ramblings host Ajay Shamdasani the areas where the financial sector is hiring, with insurance and crypto-compliance being key drivers for employment.

Kirsty and Raoul also share their thoughts on how firms hire legal and compliance staff at more senior levels versus middle to junior ranks. Some banking and financial institutions and multinational corporations, more broadly, are moving more towards retainment mode. That is evidenced by the hiring freezes at some banks in the region.

The conversation concludes with what it takes to be a good compliance officer—beyond just knowing the rules, regulations, and general knowledge of the sector in which one seeks employment. As our guests make clear, while a legal or accounting degree and/or experience will always put one in good stead, in-house/general counsel and compliance officers need soft skills, too.

Following that, our discussion with Brian Yeung of Interactive Brokers delves into why he pursued a law degree. He also describes how he saw himself making a difference by becoming a compliance officer, which, he recalls, occurred against the backdrop of the 2001 Enron scandal leading to the collapse of venerable accounting giant Arthur Anderson and the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) in the US, which forever put a global spotlight on the importance of good corporate governance and the compliance profession writ large.

It is a profession that Brian took well to, one he still finds years later to be incredibly stimulating and rewarding. As he says, “There is no typical day for me.”

While sharing what his biggest challenges are, Brian stresses the importance of work-life balance and considers himself profoundly blessed to be able to leave at a reasonable hour each day to spend time with his family after a long day at the office. He contrasts that with the life he might have had as a solicitor in private practice, where the perpetual dread of racking up enough billable hours annually would likely have impacted his family life, notwithstanding the potentially higher rewards and prestige.

While acknowledging that compliance has long been associated with the legal and accounting professions, he does not believe one necessarily needs to complete a degree in either of those subjects to have a successful compliance career. Although a law degree can be useful, an investigative mind is also a valuable asset to those considering entering the field.

Regulatory Ramblings podcasts is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong – Reg/Tech Lab, HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in Fintech, with support from the HKU Faculty of Law.

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Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 62 – The Green Belt and Road Initiative/Open-Source Intelligence & Non-English Language Online Research with Dr. Oriol Caudevilla and Skip Schiphorst

In the first part of this episode in our Regulatory Ramblings Spotlight section, we’ll speak with legal scholar Dr. Oriol Caudevilla on the green aspects of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, as it is more colloquially known. We’ll follow that up with a chat with Skip Schiphorst, a former Dutch Marine, Iraq War veteran, and master linguist, about his penchant for languages and doing online, open-source research in languages other than English—especially Russian, Arabic, and Mandarin Chinese—and how English isn’t necessarily the easiest language to search in.

Dr. Oriol Caudevilla is a highly regarded voice on all things fintech. He is an Honorary Fellow at HKU’s Asian Institute of International Financial Law (AIIFL) and a Board Director and Secretary General at the Global Impact FinTech Forum (GIFT).
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Oriol has published articles and has been cited by international media outlets such as Reuters, Forbes Middle East, the SCMP, Outlook India, China Daily, Asian Investor, Forkast News, and Cointelegraph. He has also hosted The Digital Tomorrow podcast for the past three years.

He shares his views on the potential environmental benefits of Beijing’s BRI with Regulatory Ramblings host Ajay Shamdasani.

Much has been said about the BRI, known in China as the One Belt, One Road—and sometimes labeled the New Silk Road. A global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organizations, the scheme is composed of six urban development land corridors linked by road, rail, energy, and digital infrastructure and the Maritime Silk Road connected by the development of ports.

The idea was simple: transport raw materials to China while carrying its manufactured wares to participating nations.

Oriol fleshes out what he means by the “Green BRI” because, on the surface, the concept seems counterintuitive, as vast amounts of carbon/energy are expended to carry resources toward China and goods from it. As he points out, there are green efficiencies and other benefits to be had from the BRI that will meaningfully impact the planet’s climate.

Skip Schiphorst is the course coordinator and instructor for the Swiss-based firm I-Intelligence’s Arabic, Russian, and Chinese open-source intelligence (OSINT) courses. He served 17 years in the Dutch Marine Corps, the elite corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

While serving, he was deployed to several regions, including the Second Iraq War, as a Reconnaissance Marine. Having operated in multiple theaters, his language and cultural skills were extensively used. Skip holds a university degree in Chinese Studies and is keenly interested in incorporating languages within the OSINT/online spectrum.

He shares with Ajay the importance of being able to search for OSINT in languages other than English and how it has a direct application to lawyers, compliance officers, and investigators in regional hubs like Hong Kong and Singapore—and the banking and financial institutions and multinational corporations they serve. As he emphasizes, it is often easier to navigate the internet in Chinese than in English due to the simplicity of the structure of the former language.

Skip describes what it was like to grow up in Switzerland as a young man of Dutch ancestry, his decision to join the Marines in 1997, and how his views on the world and the degree to which outside powers can use military force to change cultures and nations changed over the course of his service. He believes this to be the Asian century, as many Western nations pursue more nativist and isolationist policies.

He also discusses the value of OSINT and multilingual research for due diligence in mergers and acquisitions and know-your-customer searches in anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions compliance for banks.

Regulatory Ramblings podcasts is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong – Reg/Tech Lab, HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in Fintech, with support from the HKU Faculty of Law.

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Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 60 – The Evolution of Fintech: Asia, The US and the Implications for Inclusion with Theodora Lau

Based in the US, Theodora Lau, or Theo, as she’s known, is Hong Kong-born and bred and the founder of Unconventional Ventures. Her firm’s mission is to develop and grow an ecosystem of financial institutions, corporations, startups, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and accelerators to improve banking and meet the often-unmet needs of consumers, including older adults and women. Theo’s mission is to connect founders with funders, specifically underrepresented entrepreneurs.

She regularly mentors and advises startups in financial services and healthcare/caregiving as part of her work. She is also an advisor to B21 Ventures, which focuses on entrepreneurs disrupting finance and health through artificial intelligence.

Theo has been referred to by the American Banker as one of the “Most Influential Women in FinTech” and is one of few global experts providing authoritative insights on both the US vis a vis Asia.
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Besides being a best-selling author, Theo is an accomplished technologist and is much sought after for her unique insights on the success of super apps in Asia, the evolution of AI, and the disparity in digital adoption between regions. She is also a public speaker, writer, and advisor who seeks to spark innovation in the public and private sectors to benefit forgotten demographics and create a more inclusive society.

Theo regularly discusses AI, gender equity, FinTech, inclusion, and longevity. She is a guest contributor for various top industry events, publications, and podcasts, including Fintech Futures, the American Banker, BBC, the Journal of Digital Banking, Harvard Business Review, Nikkei Asia, MIT Tech Review, Money20/20, Finovate, RISE, FinTech Week Hong Kong, Breaking Banks, Irish Tech News, and the Forbes Technology Council.

She is the co-author of “Beyond Good: How Technology is Leading a Purpose-Driven Business Revolution” and co-author of “The Metaverse Economy” (both books are now available in paperback editions). Theo is also the host of One Vision, a podcast on innovation and fintech, and runs a weekly LinkedIn newsletter called FinTech Prose on emerging technologies (such as voice-activated/enabled software and AI), inclusion, longevity, fintech, innovation, and using technology for good. Her monthly column on Fintech Futures explores the intersection of FinTech and humanity.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in New York and a Master of Science in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC.

In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, Theo provides listeners with an in-depth look at the evolving fintech landscape and its regulatory challenges. A common thread in her discussion with our host, Ajay Shamdasani, is the seeming chasm in digital adoption between Asia and the US.

Theo talks about growing up in Hong Kong, eventually heading to the States for education, and her impressions two-plus decades later as having been fortunate enough to have a catbird seat at the beginning of the modern age of digital finance. ​

Having seen FinTech evolve throughout her career, she also recounts the field’s greatest successes in terms of benefits to the financial system and society overall. Theo comments on why the US is so far behind places like Japan and China in terms of digital payment options, noting that in China, the development of the ecosystem is primarily driven by large, big tech juggernauts like WeChat and Tencent. Similarly, in Japan, which she emphasizes has been “pretty cash heavy until recent times,” the nation’s conglomerates are pushing the move towards digital payments. She stresses, however, that while Asia has a rich FinTech ecosystem, it is at different levels of development because the region is not a monolith.

​Theo also shares her thoughts on how long it will be before the US fully embraces digital banking, as many Americans still seem content to write cheques.

​It is in sharp contrast to Hong Kong, where the South China Morning Post reported in mid-December 2024 that, based on figures from the Hong Kong Association of Banks, the use of cheques in the Special Administrative Region has fallen and is expected to continue to decline at an annual rate of between 10-20%. The number of cheque payments in the city dropped by 27% to 4.33 million this November, compared with 5.9 million in November 2021, while the value fell by 22% to HK$468.54 billion per month over the same period.

Other markets, such as the UK, Australia, and Singapore, are also trying to reduce the use of cheques.

Yet, as Theo remarks, the number of regulators in the US might at least partly explain its sluggishness in rolling out more digital payment options.

​Reflecting on the post-Covid world, she points out that worldwide, financial regulators and central banks have been proactive, despite geopolitical issues, to create linkages for seamless cross-border transactions and transfers—as seen by Project Nexus, the Bank of International Settlements Innovation Hub, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore building towards a unified system for fast payments across Southeast Asia, with a planned extension into South Asia.

What used to be siloed and driven by private organizations has led regulators to see the value of interconnectivity now.

The challenge is how FinTech can benefit financial inclusion. There is a widespread perception that tech creators sometimes promise more than they can deliver, especially in terms of bettering the lives of the poor, elderly, illiterate, uneducated, or uninformed.

The problem is not confined to developing nations: 4.2% of US households, or 5.6 million households, are classified as unbanked, with a further 14.2%, or 19 million households, deemed underbanked. The question is, therefore, one of fairer access to the financial apparatus.

​The discussion concludes with Theo stating that it is not technology that poses the most significant challenge. Instead, she says, it is the adoption of tech by local regulators or enterprises and the regulations that enable them. She also remarks on generative AI and machine learning in financial services and whether they can facilitate digital inclusion in the Asia-Pacific and the West while acknowledging the related liability issues and that regulators are perhaps not as tech-savvy as they need to be.

​Looking ahead, Theo notes that a key challenge is that many startups and tech firms generally focus their marketing and sales on younger users—despite more wealth held by older people—because of a perception of a lack of digital competency amongst the latter by entrepreneurs.

​She says another roadblock to tech adoption is by financial institutions themselves, as many banks and MNC CEOs are more focused on the bottom line and fear that large, transformational projects will cost millions and hurt their remuneration.

Regulatory Ramblings podcasts is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong – Reg/Tech Lab, HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in Fintech, with support from the HKU Faculty of Law.

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