This year’s event was the biggest yet! Outgrowing the IBM London space, we held the event at the iconic Sofitel London St. James hotel. The location is steeped with financial services history. It was built to house the headquarters of Cox & Kings Bank. Lloyds later acquired the building, which became Lloyds’ most prestigious branch in London. This was also the first bank to have a computer which was so big that the floor had to be reinforced - such a fitting location to hold the IBM Financial Services Cloud Council event!
The in-person event brought together over 90 participants, with representatives from 48 organizations including banks, regulators, trade associations, partners, fintechs and IBM industry experts.
The event focused on The Next Era of Financial Services Technology and Innovation and initiated lively discussions on key themes including Hybrid Cloud, Operational Resilience, Regulations, Generative and Agentic AI, Ecosystem/ 3rd/4th parties, Quantum, Payments and Fintech innovation.
Day 1: Innovations and Opportunities
Speakers joined from the World Economic Forum, Bank of England, Euro Banking Association, Rock Creek Global Advisors, HSBC, Banco Sabadell, Axyon AI, Utimaco and Red Hat.
Discussions targeted the global divergence in tech regulation, a growing challenge for banks to establish ROI in their AI approaches and the increased focus on hybrid cloud environments to support innovation strategies. The future of payments and the infrastructure needed to support 24/7 instant payments was also a new conversation topic for this group.
Day 2: Regulatory and Risk Environment
Speakers joined from BaFin, Banco ATLANTICO Europa, BNP Paribas, European Central Bank, Federal Reserve Board, Nordea, Quid, SAP, ServiceNow, Temenos, Konsentus, Santander, Vodafone and Allianz.
Legacy infrastructure remains the primary barrier to digital transformation and our regulatory discussion focused on the need for modernization and simultaneously, institutions must prepare for quantum threats projected to render cryptography obsolete by 2030. Council members joined breakout sessions for deeper discussions on how to push their innovation agendas forward while maintaining a focus on operational resilience, security and compliance requirements.
New! Breakout sessions were offered on the most pressing industry topics:
- Accelerating the Journey to Cloud
- Tackling the Third-Party Risk Challenge
- Optimizing Enterprise VMware Workloads
- Bridging Banking & Fintech Innovation
The event offered plenty of opportunities to learn, network and have some fun! Throughout the two days attendees connected, forged relationships and engaged with multiple demonstrations.
Event Summary and Presentations
All IBM Financial Services Cloud Council member organizations can access the 11 & 12 June Council Event Summary here and the Presentations here.
As a reminder, previous Council Meeting and Event summaries and presentations are available on the Council Corner.
For non-members, if you are interested in participating in future IBM Financial Services Cloud Council sessions, including the next in-person event on 7 & 8 October 2025 in New York City that will focus on Leading Innovation & Growth Agendas in Turbulent Times, please send an inquiry to Trudi Hermon.
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