Global regulators have long kept an eye on the shadow banking sector from afar and warned that it may be a source of systemic risk, but the pandemic-driven market turmoil in March was a tipping point. The Financial Stability Board is now calling for firm action to “strengthen the resilience of non-bank financial intermediation”. 

Policy-makers and their advisers have at last recognised the implications of climate change on financial stability, marking a sea change in political sentiment on this issue. By Victor Smart

With Brexit done, UK negotiators are now striving to reclaim some access to EU financial markets: an ambitious goal, according to some, and one in which the benefits may be overstated. 

Residents of Suzhou, an ancient city in the Yangtze Basin, recently pioneered China’s new digital currency – and banks and fintechs are taking note. 

Clearing house members have cautiously welcomed the latest FSB guidance on CCP resolution, which contained few surprises, but argue it should go even further. 

The infrastructure of financial markets came a step closer to being revolutionised following an experiment involving the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) using central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for settling transactions. By Justin Pugsley

A free trade agreement between the UK and the US looks unlikely any time soon. However, this will not stop the two forging greater regulatory co-operation to boost financial services activity, potentially creating a template for other international agreements. 

The year 2020 generated seismic shifts in the structure of markets, ways of working, the landscape of risks and paths of recovery. Harnessing these requires firms to prioritise a purposeful recovery, resilience and restructuring in the year ahead. By Adam Markson, head of UK and Ireland risk practice at Accenture.