Type:: News
Date:: 12 Nov 2025

Digitalization and compliance: what the financial sector needs to know

Digitalization and compliance are no longer separate conversations. Together, they are reshaping how financial firms navigate regulation, manage risk, and drive innovation. At this joint event, researchers and industry leaders came together to explore how governance, technology, and regulation intersect in today’s financial sector.

Date: November 11, 2025

Location: Stockholm School of Economics

Organized by: House of Innovation (HOI) and House of Governance and Public Policy (GaPP)

What the Research Shows

Åke Freij, Affiliated Researcher at HOI, and Karl Wennberg, Scientific Director of GaPP, opened the seminar with findings from their two-year research project. Their work examines how financial firms adapt to regulatory change and how the expanding “RegTech” market supports both compliance and innovation.

One key message: digitalization and regulation are evolving together. Åke referred to this as the “fifth wave” - a wave driven by technology. He outlined four critical steps for organisations to manage this shift:

Strengthen capabilities at every level
Build clear interfaces and integration across systems
Revisit architecture with a true enterprise view
Reuse knowledge and deliverables across projects

Åke Freij, Affiliated Research Fellow at the House of Innovation. Photo: Johanna Ståhlberg.

Karl Wennberg, Scientific Director of the House of Governance and Public Policy. Photo: Johanna Ståhlberg

Navigating a Shifting Landscape

A panel discussion followed, moderated by Karl Wennberg. Panelists included:

Charlotte Boij, Chair and Advisor
Fredrik Davéus, Co-founder and CEO, Kidbrooke
Josefin Lindstrand, Legal and Corporate Governance Advisor
Kristian Bentzer, CEO, MissionPoint AB

The discussion focused on the real-world challenges of digital compliance - from AI implementation and data integrity to regulatory agility and corporate culture.

One recurring theme: organisations that get their technology and data governance right from the start will have a competitive edge.

“New actors who build governance right from the start will have a major advantage,” noted Charlotte Boij.

The panel. Photo: Johanna Ståhlberg

What Comes Next

The seminar closed with a call for closer collaboration between researchers, regulators, and industry. As Åke and Karl emphasized, building adaptive, transparent, and resilient financial systems will depend on it.

Guests continued the conversation at a networking mingle, sharing ideas on how to lead through change in a digital-first financial landscape.