Insights

The launch of ChatGPT in November not only disrupted the tech sector commercially, sparking a wave of competition in generative AI, but also reignited the policy debate over AI governance and regulation. 

On June 28th, the European Commission published its long-awaited proposals on reforming the EU’s payments and open finance rules while also setting out further details on plans for a single currency package on the digital euro and the legal tender status for cash.

This week on the podcast, the Global Counsel financial services team surveys the new regulatory landscape created by the rise of digital and cryptocurrencies.

If the UK is genuinely committed to being a leading global financial services centre then it is going to need to expand the public policy bandwidth and regulatory capacity available to manage a rapidly changing and innovative ecosystem.  

UK foreign secretary Liz Truss has declared that nothing is off-limits in terms of sanctioning individuals to put pressure on Putin and his Ukraine policy. In this week’s podcast, we ask how far this no-holds barred approach is true, not just in Russia but also more broadly. Has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fundamentally changed the UK’s willingness to go after “the bad…

Benjamin Wegg-Prosser and Rebecca Park are joined by Chris Weafer, a Moscow-based investment strategist and founding partner of Macro-Advisory, to talk through the sanctions’ impact on corporates and investors and the specific challenges they face in Russia and the wider region.

In a bonus episode, as the standoff at the Russian-Ukraine border continues, Alexander Smotrov and Rebecca Park discuss the economic and geographic implications of the crisis with CFC Big Ideas Partner Vasyl Myroshnychenko and CEC Group Chairman Marek Matraszek.

At the end of each year, the Global Counsel team has a tradition of sharing among ourselves a selection of our favourite articles, books and podcasts. We also share the list with our network in what has become a staple of GC holiday communications. Some of this informs our day jobs, but most of it can also be filed against the (very) interesting times we live in.

Another October, another party conference season is over in the UK. With a speech to the Conservative faithful in the Manchester hall, the Prime Minister set out what the second half of his parliamentary term might look like. Crucially, while he gave details of what he wanted to do, questions about the cost of living, the NHS backlog and net-zero ahead of the October…

UK businesses should be concerned by energy price spikes being experienced in Britain, not just because of the impact on their bottom lines, but also because of the reputational issues that come from skyrocketing prices. The UK government ignores the rising cost of living crisis at its peril, but crucially so does business. With the gas price hike in the domestic market,…

Rishi Patel, Practice Lead for Policy Communications, Stephen Adams, Senior Director and Rebecca Park, Senior Practice Lead for Financial Services discuss new research commissioned by Global Counsel looking at public attitudes to inflation, price rises and the cost of living.

A striking element of the current European Commission is its emphasis on supporting individual technologies, sectors and “ecosystems”. 

On a call for the Global Counsel network, Stephen Adams, Senior Director, Alex Dawson, UK Politics and Policy Practice Lead and Rebecca Park, Financial Services Practice Lead examine the newly-announced UK Budget for 2021 and what it means for businesses and investors. They focus on key questions on the future of covid support schemes like furlough and business loans,…

GC has collaborated with UK Finance to produce a comprehensive strategic overview of how the UK might define a trade policy for financial services. The UK and international trade in financial services report: