What do the United Kingdom, the United States, Mexico, South Africa, the European Parliament and India have in common? All of these countries, along with many others, are holding elections in 2024, and the world's geopolitical It will affect the situation and the global banking industry.
In the session “The Globe At The Polls: What 40+ Elections Around The World in 2024 Means For Our Sector'' at IFGS 2024 held at London's Guildhall, journalist Edie Rush spoke about how global elections mean 2024 means for our sector. hosted a panel discussion about what it means for Christopher Woolard, UK fintech leader and chair of EY's Global Financial Services Regulatory Network, Ian Anderson, founder and managing director of Cicero, managing director and head of digital finance at the Institute of International Finance Jessica Renier from the financial industry will be the speaker.
This year, 64 countries excluding the EU will hold elections. This means that almost half of the world will hold national elections, with nearly 1.5 billion people voting. And it will have a decisive global economic, social, and geopolitical impact in the future. Year.
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Touching on geopolitical risks, Woolard said that while international instability may seem far away while a company is in its early stages of development, it will impact the environment in which fintechs find themselves as they grow. said. He points out that as geopolitics becomes more divisive, companies seeking to operate internationally will need more nuance.
In the UK, the host said a Labor government was likely to be formed soon, which would have an impact on the public sector and financial services, particularly in terms of spending. Mr Anderson responded that what the British public wanted was policy certainty and predictability.
He added: “Labour is talking about a sandbox for underserved people, which is an important idea in terms of financing growth, and an opportunity to see the democratization of finance. ''.
Returning to world politics, Renier said the world is moving towards a protectionist position and away from its previous globalized position, which will have a negative impact on the development of AI. explained. She outlined the inability to piece together the “patchwork” of AI policies developed in isolated countries to create a cohesive “quilt.”
She commented: “I'm a little worried about the protectionist direction we're going in, but I think at some point we're going to reap what we've sown from different data protections, and data sharing policies are going to be aligned. It has evolved to function.”
Woolard said that while sustainability is a global issue, there are different ways to tackle it, and there are different ESG frameworks that need to be adopted depending on regulations in different states, and companies need to expand their operations. He added that as companies grow, they will experience friction when trying to fit into multiple frameworks. .
Mr Anderson stressed the need for dialogue between government and industry. He said it was up to politicians to decide the level of risk to place on the economy.
Mr. Rainier explained how countries view development and risk: And in an election year, all of these countries are either thinking regulation first, or setting technical standards first, or investing and building capacity first. You can see that he prioritizes these three elements in different orders, depending on what kind of infrastructure each country has and the level of risk it accepts. I think this explains a lot of the development, time and investment that occurs in some areas. This is the technology we are looking at. ”
He added that technology standards around AI and quantum will be developed in the US, and while the US tends not to act as quickly as the EU on regulation, there needs to be a balance between the two. Variations Based on Regulatory Principles and Certain Future Variations.
The use of AI to spread misinformation will be a major concern in the upcoming election, especially as AI and deepfake technologies are still in their infancy and AI is largely unchecked by regulatory frameworks. I am. His online tracker His Rest of World tracks major AI misinformation circulating regarding elections. This gives people insight into the vast amount of AI-generated lies being spread to entertain voters and sway political positions.
“We need to be thoughtful about how quickly we rush into very specific variations on principles to support growth, which is quite common here in the UK. Adopting a principles-based approach doing.”
Mr Anderson agreed that balance was key and that there was a lot of growth and potential concentrated here in the UK.
Among the major elections already held this year are the Pakistan elections in which the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party won the most seats and formed a coalition government with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and the election in which Rai became Prime Minister. There was an election in Taiwan. Chinte of the Democratic Progressive Party, who was the former president's vice president, won the majority of votes and will take office in May. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin was elected to a fifth term. In Indonesia, Defense Minister and retired army general Prabowo Subianto won the election with the highest number of votes in Indonesia's history, and in South Korea, the liberal opposition Democratic Party (DPK) defeated the People's Power Party by a landslide.
The upcoming elections to watch that will change the fintech industry globally are those in the EU, UK, India, and US.
