In a statement made during his first visit to Brussels as Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, Germany's newly appointed leader, called for the European Union to scrap the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). This directive, adopted in May 2024, mandates that companies take action to address their negative impacts on human rights and the environment throughout their supply chains.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed an amicus brief in support of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Revised Proposed Final Judgment (RPFJ) aimed at addressing Google's violations of antitrust laws, specifically in relation to its monopolistic practices in search services and online advertising. The FTC, as the nation’s primary privacy enforcement agency, emphasized the importance of privacy protections within the proposed settlement.
In the midst of extreme global uncertainty and market turbulence, BaFin President Mark Branson delivered a message of optimism and resilience at the authority’s annual press conference on May 7, 2025. Addressing journalists in Frankfurt, Branson set the tone for Europe’s financial future, underscoring the need for strong institutions, legal clarity, and simplified regulation.
In an address at the MAS-Banque de France Seminar during Ecosperity Week, Marcus Lim, Assistant Managing Director (Banking & Insurance) of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), talked about how sustainability isn’t just about preventing the inevitable collapse of systems, it’s about maintaining balance before we reach a tipping point.
In a year marked by economic challenges and global uncertainty, Austria’s financial sector has shown impressive resilience. The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) 2024 Annual Report paints a picture of a financial system that is not just surviving, but thriving amid the storm. Executive Directors Helmut Ettl and Eduard Müller highlighted how Austria’s banks and insurers managed to weather the storm, with a steady focus on stability and profitability—key pillars for navigating the turbulence ahead.
At the 2025 European Anti-Financial Crime Summit, Patricia Dunne, Director of the Horizontal Supervision Directorate at the Central Bank of Ireland, delivered a thought-provoking speech on the intersection of technology, innovation, and the fight against financial crime. Her remarks, titled "AML and Innovation — Opportunities and Challenges", were aimed at exploring the balance between embracing new technologies and ensuring that risks are effectively managed to protect the financial system.
UnitedHealth Group is making waves in the healthcare sector with the launch of 1,000 artificial intelligence (AI) applications across its insurance, health services, and pharmacy units. This ambitious move, originally reported by the Wall Street Journal, to integrate AI into core business operations is a game-changer for the industry, offering potential to streamline workflows, enhance the customer experience, and support medical decision-making. However, as AI continues to shape the future of healthcare, its governance remains a critical concern, particularly when it comes to claims processing, data privacy, and ethical considerations.