Reflections from the Global RegTech Summit 2025
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Reflections from the Global RegTech Summit 2025
On Tuesday 20th May, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Global RegTech Summit 2025 in London, where industry leaders came together to explore the evolving role of technology in managing risk and regulatory compliance.
I had the pleasure of joining two panel discussions; one on the Risk & Surveillance Stage, focused on:
“Optimising Technology Risk Management: Best Practices for Emerging Technologies.”
The other was a Keynote discussion on Riding the Regtech wave, focused on: “Organisational Priorities and Strategies to Transformation in 2025”
Both were timely conversations and ones that resonated deeply with the challenges and opportunities Financial Services currently face.
🚀 Embracing Emerging Technologies (With Caution)
The panel began with a discussion around automation, AI, and the increasing drive for innovation. I weighed in on the ongoing debate between developing technology in-house versus buying off-the-shelf solutions. While external vendors can help accelerate progress, there’s often a trade-off in terms of integration, control, and long-term flexibility.
For us, the decision often comes down to risk visibility and scalability. When you build internally, you have a clearer understanding of the system’s architecture and how it evolves, which matters when regulatory scrutiny intensifies.
🔐 Vendor Selection: Choose Carefully, Review Often
We also discussed the growing complexity of third-party risk management. I highlighted the issue of rapid obsolescence, a tool that works today might be outdated tomorrow. This, combined with vendor competition and overlap, makes due diligence more important than ever.
At Conister, we treat vendor relationships as living partnerships. That means:
- Establishing clear SLAs and accountability
- Regularly revisiting risk frameworks
- Conducting ongoing performance and security assessments
Vendor risk isn’t a tick-box exercise, it’s a continuous process.
⚙️ AI, No-Code Tools, and Human Oversight
One exciting development we’ve embraced is the use of AI and no-code QA platforms to drive efficiencies. These tools are reshaping how financial services operate, but they can’t work in isolation.
My key message here: human oversight is essential. Especially when it comes to critical decisions, we need transparency, ethical standards, and fallback mechanisms to prevent blind spots or unintended outcomes.
Technology should support teams, not replace the judgement and nuance they bring to risk management.
This led to an important point I shared with the audience: AI is not here to take people’s jobs. If businesses integrate AI effectively into their systems, they become more efficient, which leads to increased revenue and ultimately, greater profitability. And when a business is doing well, why would it reduce staff or resources? The goal isn’t replacement, it’s enhancement.
📉 Regulation Still Catching Up
One recurring theme from the discussion was the gap between technology and regulation. Innovation is moving faster than many compliance frameworks can keep up with – and that creates real risk.
I spoke about the need for:
- Upskilling teams across departments
- Building compliance into the design phase of new tech and incorporating all the lines of defence into new designs
- Working proactively with regulators rather than reactively responding
We can’t afford to wait for the rulebook to catch up, we need to anticipate it.
💡 My Key Takeaways
- Integration and Data Quality are critical, poor implementation creates more risk than reward
- Balance Innovation and Caution, run pilots, reassess frequently, and prepare for change
- AI is powerful, but not perfect, build with transparency and always include human review
- Vendor Risk Management is a long game, it requires structure, oversight, and regular re-evaluation
- Security must be embedded from the start, especially where personal or financial data is concerned
- Stay ahead of regulation by investing in training, cross-functional collaboration, and future-proofing your strategies
🔭 Looking Ahead
As we look to the next 12 months, our focus at Conister Bank will include:
- Strengthening data security protocols
- Expanding AI integration with proper oversight
- Enhancing our real-time risk monitoring systems
- Using predictive analytics to anticipate threats
- Developing flexible, adaptive risk frameworks that evolve with the pace of technology and regulation
The RegTech Summit was a fantastic opportunity to exchange ideas and reflect on where our industry is heading. I’m grateful to the organisers and fellow panellists for the engaging conversation and I look forward to continuing the work of building technology-led risk strategies that are both innovative and resilient.
By Haseeb Qureshi, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Managing Director, Conister Bank
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