In the opening plenary of Sibos 2025 in Frankfurt, executives at Swift and leading German banks Deutsche Bundesbank and Deutsche Bank introduced the themes of the conference and what can be accomplished on ‘the next frontier of global finance’.
Kicking off sessions ahead of the big announcement, Graeme Munro, chair, Swift, highlighted how it is essential for financial institutions to engage in continuous improvement by keeping the pace with new technologies. Munro stated that cooperation is essential in securing the foundations for transactional banking, and as the financial ecosystem continues to evolve, laying the groundwork for security and compliance, and keeping the momentum of innovation is vital.
CEO of Swift, Javier Pérez-Tasso, revealed that the emergence of new technologies will be at the centre of discussions over the next few days: AI, quantum, CBDCs, tokenised assets, new policy frameworks, and stablecoins. Pérez-Tasso points to the rapid growth of the cross-border payments industry and the increasing demand for instant payments, stating that the future will see “more ways to move value, not fewer, and consumers will demand more choices, not less,” which indicates the need for optionality as the global payments ecosystem evolves.
Swift will add a blockchain-based ledger to its technology infrastructure to facilitate moving tokenised value across digital platforms, Pérez-Tasso announced.
“You may wonder, aren’t those opposites - Swift and blockchain, TradFi and DeFi? Can they really go together? In the regulated system in the future, we believe they can. Banks are ready for it, and they're asking us to play a bigger role, so we're working with more than 30 banks globally and building an initial prototype with consensus to shape how the ledger will be brought to life in the most valuable way for the industry as a whole.”
Speaking next was Joachim Nagel, president of Deutsche Bundesbank, who stated that a “truly smart economy” supported by smart contracts, digital money, DLT, automated settlements and more, is within our reach. However, “We cannot support innovation for innovation’s sake alone,” Nagel warned.
“Money must not be weakened. Trust in money requires stability of prices. Therefore, we as central banks will not accept any developments that weaken our ability to implement monetary policy effectively. We will ensure that the euro remains the dominating currency here in the euro area. Furthermore, the financial stability must not be endangered.”
He continued to highlight the guiding principles of central banks:
1. To not endanger financial stability,
2. To ensure that new instruments and technologies cannot “create distorited incentives” that lead to market volatility, and
3. To maintain compliance with proper and current regulation.
In conversation with Pérez-Tasso, Nagel said that the momentum of digital assets and tokenised money are an isolated solution that need context and governance, and to deal with complex regulatory environments and fragmented geopolitics, it is important to stay resilient, keep up with regulatory compliance, and speed up central bank processes.
Nagel expressed optimism that the digital euro will be in effect before he leaves his position - within the next four years. He highlighted the demand for the CBDC: “In a world that is getting more and more digital, I think it is a logical consequence that you have to provide a digital solution for this - and that is the digital euro.”
Reiterating the impact that the digital euro will have, Nagel stated that on top of acting as a smart payment solution, it will create both a cloud and digital infrastructure that will give Europe sovereignty and boost its position as a global financial leader.
Finally, Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche Bank took to the stage to discuss transformative changes in the current financial industry, and how banks will shape the future. Sewing outlined the waves of unprecedented change that have rocked the globe in the last five years, seeing huge political shifts and an increase in global conflict.
“Global trade has taken on a darker tone,” He stated: “Much like geopolitics, confrontation now dominates where actually cooperation once prevailed. Meanwhile, technological development has accelerated dramatically, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence. We all know AI will be a game changer, though we still lack the imagination of what and how it will grasp this world shaped by geopolitical tensions, technological disruption, and economic uncertainty,”
He continued to note the new role of banks as infrastructure providers, risk managers, technology investors, sustainable partners “banks have become the connective tissue of a hyper-connected economy”.
Sewing distinguished four major challenges facing the European financial ecosystem:
1. Geopolitical shifts that led to changes in value chains and trade, forcing banks to redefine and reposition trade finance;
2. The further divergence of the global regulatory environment across regions and financial institutions will lead to further fragmentation and complexity;
3. An increase in competitive pressure both outside and inside the industry;
4. The decline in customer loyalty as competitors leverage new technologies.
To confront these challenges, Sewing called for financial institutions and fintech firms to engage in collaborative strategies to push forth the continuous innovation of transaction banking, enhance security and compliance, drive sustainable initiatives, and leverage new technologies to meet shared ambitions.