Building foundations for innovative and resilient capital markets

Deputy Governor Madouros frames tokenisation and non-bank finance expansion as system-wide shifts that require stronger foundations for European capital market integration, resilience, innovation and trust. For compliance teams, the near-term action is not immediate remediation but structured horizon-scanning. Firms should assess how tokenised settlement, digital asset custody and non-bank intermediation could affect operating models, counterparty risk, client asset arrangements, third-party dependencies and cross-border permissions.

Boards should receive a concise briefing on the direction of travel and the firm’s exposure. Legal and compliance should map current controls against evolving EU and CBI expectations on settlement finality, operational resilience, outsourcing, market integrity and financial stability. Firms active in trading, market infrastructure, investment management or fintech should consider scenario analysis for faster settlement cycles, reduced counterparty exposure and new service models, while monitoring fragmentation and liquidity risks.

No new deadlines are announced, so prioritisation should focus on readiness, governance and engagement with industry and supervisory workstreams. Smaller firms may see indirect effects through market infrastructure and counterparties; larger firms should consider participation in consultations and pilot arrangements. RegCanary recommends tracking CBI and EU capital markets, tokenisation and non-bank finance initiatives, and documenting board-level discussions in case supervisory engagement increases.