London, 3 November 2017. Fintech is the last frontier of innovation in digital services and offers an opportunity to merge cutting-edge technologies with traditional financial services. London is one of the most important fintech hubs in the world, with a compelling combination of plentiful, high-level talent, a thriving financial industry and robust regulatory capability.
This model serves as an inspiration to Italy – particularly Milan – in its ambitions for its own financial industry, especially in light of the many high-profile Italian fintech founders currently operating in London.
This was the subject of a workshop entitled Fintech Italy, which took place on the morning of 2 November at the Embassy of Italy in the UK, organised in partnership with Grimaldi Studio Legale, an international law firm, and EnVent Capital Markets, a financial consultancy firm, with the collaboration of Tancredi Group.
The event was opened by the ambassador, Pasquale Terracciano, who explained that the aim of the morning’s discussions was to understand the potential of an industry that is both evolutionary and revolutionary and its implications in digital, technological and banking culture and in access to credit.
An animated discussion on the subject was held by a diverse gathering of experts and other figures from the worlds of finance, venture capital, the digital sector, and specialist and generalist media. Introductions to the subject were given by Abdul Basit of Innovate Finance and Davide D’Angelo of Grimaldi, whose speeches were followed by two panels moderated by Marcus Exall, the CEO of Monese, and Francesco Guerrera, the head of EMEA for the Dow Jones Media Group.
The discussions focused particularly on the state of the art of the Italian market and its future prospects, with contributions by founders, investors and innovation experts, including Claudio Bedino (Oval Money), Roberto Bonanzinga (InReach Ventures), Alessandro Commito (HIT – Hub Innovazione Trentino), Savino Damico (Intesa Sanpaolo), Davide Fioranelli (Freetrade), Carlo Gualandri (Soldo), Chris Hulm (CBI), Edoardo Narduzzi (SelfieWealth), Alessandro Onano (MoneyFarm), Edoardo Narduzzi (SelfieWealth) and Matt Smith (SteelEye).
A variegated picture emerged, of both opportunities and challenges: the ample availability of talent but also a context with room for improved business stimulus; a banking system eager to develop fintech but inhibited by a regulatory framework that is still a work in progress, both nationally and at European level.
The discussions also covered Brexit and its potential impact on the industry as numerous companies develop relocation plans.
