Loriana Pelizzon (Goethe University Frankfurt, University of Venice Ca’ Foscari)

“Digitalisation and the future of banking”

LTI@UniTO Colloqium

Abstract: This talk introduces a report by the Advisory Scientific Committee of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB): “Video might kill the radio star – Digitalisation and the future of banking” discussing the impact of digitalization on the future structure of the European banking system. Financial innovation has been a defining feature of the financial sector over the centuries, in the shape of new products (e.g. new types of securities), new technologies (e.g. credit scoring, automated teller machines (ATMs)) and new institutions (e.g. venture capitalists, mutual funds) (Tufano, 2013). The current wave of financial innovation is being supported by specific technological advances, involving: (i) smart phone technology, the internet and application programming interfaces (APIs); (ii) artificial intelligence (AI) and big data technology; and (iii) distributed ledger technology (DLT). These new technologies are affecting the way banks produce and provide financial services to their customers, as well as bringing new fintech and big tech players into the production and provision of financial services. This has potential implications for incumbent financial institutions and, most notably, traditional banks, might create new sources of systemic risk and thus also poses regulatory and policy challenges.

Loriana Pelizzon is the head of the Financial Market department and coordinator of Gender Equality at the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE and Professor and Chair of Law and Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt. She is also Professor (tempo definito) of Economics at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, CEPR Research fellow and a Research Affiliate at MIT Sloan. She graduated from the London Business School with a doctorate in Finance. Her research interests are on risk measurement and management, hedge funds, market microstructure, financial institutions, systemic risk, sustainable finance, sovereign risk and financial crisis. She was one of the coordinators of the European Finance Association (EFA) Doctoral Tutorial, member of the EFA Executive Committee and member of the BSI GAMMA Foundation Board. She has been involved in NBER and FDIC projects as well as EU projects (Marie Curie, FP7 and H2020), Europlace and Inquire Europe, EIEF, Bank of France projects, MIUR, DFG, and VolkswagenStiftung: Europe and Global Challenges. She was a member of the EIOPA’s Insurance and Reinsurance Stakeholder Group and is currently Chair of the Advisory Scientific Committee of the European Systemic Risk Board, member of the EU independent expert advice team in the field of financial markets and institutions and external Expert for the EU commission on digital currency and blockchain technology.

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