LONDON — On July 14, 2025, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Commissioner Kristin Johnson convened the third annual international financial markets regulation roundtable in London. The agenda and engagement focused on rapidly evolving technologies — with emphasis on the increasing integration of artificial intelligence, the proliferation of cyber threats, and the rapid adoption of digital assets across global financial markets.[1]
During the Emergent Technologies Roundtable, Commissioner Johnson explained “AI holds significant promise for making financial services more inclusive, efficient, and accessible. But its deployment must be underpinned by robust governance, ethical design, and global regulatory collaboration. For global regulatory leadership … the challenge is to balance innovation with stability, openness with security and privacy protections, and the benefits of automation with the value of human oversight.”
Reflecting on the need for effective governance, Commissioner Johnson explained that “governance — at the firm level and the system level — matters more than ever. Fintechs must invest in model risk management, ethical design, and responsible data practices. Supervisory approaches must evolve to keep pace with the changes occurring in the markets subject to our supervision.”
The Roundtable also explored issues of operational resilience in the face of mounting cyber attacks launched by sophisticated actors operating from dark corners in many jurisdictions around the world with the potential to severely disrupt local and global financial markets. “Cyber resilience is a critical gateway issue for protecting market integrity, and an area where we need to be ‘all hands on deck’ on both sides of the pond. Cyber resilience is only as strong as its weakest link. It is important to stay vigilant and collaborate closely on best practices and lessons learned,” Commissioner Johnson said.
According to Commissioner Johnson, “convening regulators offers an exceptional opportunity for colleagues to share learning and understanding on emerging and persistent issues that directly impact market integrity, stability, and security. It has been my pleasure to coordinate an annual conversation among regulators each year of my service as a Commissioner.”
Roundtable attendees included representatives of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority, Banco de España (the central bank of Spain), the European Securities and Markets Authority, Deutsche Bundesbank (the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany), the Comisión National del Mercado de Valores (the Spanish Securities Market Commission),the City of London, the Financial Action Task Force, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, and the London School of Economics Law School, among others.
The attendees discussed a number of issues, including regulatory responses to cyber threats and operational resilience for systemically important financial institutions and market participants; risk management concerns and effective oversight of non-financial institution third party service providers; the impact of increasing reliance on AI; and strategies to enhance integrity, stability, and accountability in global financial markets.
“I extend my gratitude to the roundtable attendees,” Commissioner Johnson continued. “Hopefully, the insightful dialogue inspires harmonization, coordination, and collaboration across financial banking and market regulation.”