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Building Intelligent Markets with Trust, Discipline and Global Collaboration
Neil Parekh
Deputy Chairman, Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN)[1]
Opening Address at GFTN Forum Japan
Nihonbashi, Tokyo
26 February 2026
A very Good morning!
It’s a privilege to open the GFTN Forum here in Japan.
Japan has always had a distinctive approach to innovation. It does not rush toward every new development.
It studies it carefully, strengthens the underlying systems, and builds institutions that endure. In today’s environment of rapid change and heightened uncertainty, this balance of ambition and discipline is exactly what global markets need.
At the Global Finance & Technology Network, we bring together policymakers, regulators, founders, investors, and financial institutions to have serious, forward-looking conversations about how finance and technology are reshaping markets.
GFTN was established because these conversations can no longer happen in silos. Markets are global, technology is borderless and governance must keep pace.
We are living through one of the most consequential transitions in modern financial history.
For decades, markets were primarily shaped by macroeconomic cycles and capital flows. Today, they are increasingly shaped by infrastructure and intelligence.
Financial systems are becoming faster, more connected, and more data-driven. Settlement cycles are compressing. Payments are increasingly seamless and cross-border.
Private markets are scaling globally and retail participation has expanded. Digital assets are challenging long-standing assumptions about ownership, custody, and liquidity.
Over the past two days, this Forum has brought that transformation into focus; not just through discussion, but through direct experience.
On 24 February, we stepped into Japan’s financial and digital ecosystem through our Innovation Tour.
For those who attended and engaged with FinCity Tokyo’s positioning of Japan as an international financial centre explored regulatory innovation and cross-border collaboration opportunities and met industry leaders and fintech innovators navigating deployment challenges in real markets.
In Asakusa, we saw SME digitisation at scale within heritage retail environments. We observed cross-border QR payments in action within tourism corridors and witnessed real-world Alipay+ implementations integrated into department stores and voucher systems.
And at the Bank of Japan’s Money Museum, we were reminded that monetary evolution, from feudal-era coinage to modern banknotes, rests on institutional stability, crisis management capability and public trust.
The message from 24 February was clear: innovation in Japan is not theoretical. It is deployed. It is regulated. And it is embedded within institutional strength , we deepened the conversation.
We examined programmable markets, tokenisation strategies, next-generation payments infrastructure and the convergence of digital assets with traditional finance.
We explored how AI is transforming underwriting, trading, supervision and compliance. and debated accountability in increasingly autonomous systems and the governance frameworks required to manage model risk,
concentration risk and systemic implications.
The conclusion was unmistakable: digital assets and AI are not parallel developments.
They are converging forces reshaping financial architecture itself.
Today, on 26 February, our focus shifts toward implementation and alignment.
We are examining cross-border corridors across Asia.
We are discussing interoperability between traditional and tokenised systems.
We are exploring practical AI governance frameworks and institutional adoption strategies.
The emphasis now is coordination - how policy, capital and technology move forward together rather than in isolation.
And at the centre of that coordination lies the force already redefining global financial infrastructure.
But what truly distinguishes this moment is not just digitisation.
It is the rise of artificial intelligence as a foundational layer in financial markets.
AI is no longer experimental. It is embedded in trading systems, credit underwriting, fraud detection, compliance monitoring, and risk management influencing how institutions allocate capital and how regulators monitor systemic risk.
For the first time, decision-making in markets is being supported by systems
capable of synthesizing vast amounts of information in real time.
This creates extraordinary opportunity. While AI can strengthen risk modelling and make markets more responsive.
It can also introduce new forms of concentration risk, model risk, and governance risk.
When algorithms inform or automate decisions at scale, transparency and accountability become even more critical. AI does not remove responsibility from institutions. It intensifies it.
The central question is no longer whether AI will transform markets. It already is. The question is how we guide that transformation responsibly and collaboratively.
This is where GFTN plays an decisive role. Our purpose is not simply to celebrate innovation but to create alignment around it.
Innovation without coordination can lead to fragmentation, and fragmentation in financial markets can undermine stability.
We need technologists who understand systemic risk, regulators who
understand technology, and investors who think beyond short-term returns toward long-term resilience.
Japan has an important voice in this global dialogue. It combines technological sophistication with regulatory maturity and a deep appreciation for stability. As AI becomes increasingly embedded in financial infrastructure, that balance will matter enormously.
Looking ahead, I see three defining shifts.
First, markets are becoming programmable. As tokenization, smart contracts, and AI-driven systems expand, financial infrastructure is increasingly defined by technology.
The choices we make today will shape incentives and behaviours for years to come.
Second, intelligence is becoming a competitive advantage. Institutions that harness AI responsibly will differentiate themselves not only in performance, but in risk management, customer experience, and operational resilience.
Third, trust will be the ultimate differentiator.
In a world where algorithms influence outcomes, transparency becomes essential. Participants must understand and trust the systems in which they operate. Without trust, liquidity and confidence erode. With trust, markets thrive.
At GFTN, I see our responsibility as building durable bridges across jurisdictions, across sectors, and across disciplines. The future of global finance will not be shaped by one region or one institution. It will be shaped by networks of collaboration.
Over the course of this Forum, I encourage you to engage deeply and candidly. We must ask difficult but necessary questions.
How do we ensure AI enhances market integrity rather than weakens it? How do we manage systemic risk in increasingly automated systems? How do we expand access to capital while preserving safeguards?
These are design choices, and they will define the next generation of financial infrastructure.
We have a rare opportunity to shape markets that are not only more intelligent, but also more inclusive and more resilient.
That outcome is not inevitable. It depends on leadership, cooperation, and shared responsibility.
Thank you for being here and for contributing to this conversation. I look forward to the dialogue ahead, and to the partnerships that will emerge from it.
Let’s now get to work.
Thank you.
[1] Mr Parekh is also Vice Chairman Asia Pacific, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)