In this special live recording of AFME Voices from AFME’s Compliance & Legal Conference 2026, AFME’s James Kemp speaks with Natasha Cazenave, Executive Director of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), about the opportunities and challenges shaping Europe’s financial markets.

A key focus of the discussion is the EU’s Savings and Investment Union (SIU) initiative and the steps needed to mobilise savings, deepen capital markets and support investment across Europe. Natasha outlines ESMA’s role in supporting market integration, reducing fragmentation and enabling firms to operate more seamlessly across the Single Market.

The conversation also explores the growing importance of regulatory simplification, with a focus on streamlining reporting requirements, risk-based supervision and improving the investor journey. Looking ahead, Natasha shares her views on the future of tokenisation and digital finance, the opportunities presented by distributed ledger technology, and the regulatory questions that still need to be addressed.

The episode concludes with reflections on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, operational resilience, EU-UK cooperation and the priorities compliance and legal professionals should be focusing on as financial markets continue to evolve.

Topics discussed:

• Savings and Investment Union (SIU)
• Capital markets integration and competitiveness
• Regulatory simplification and reporting reform
• ESMA’s supervisory approach
• Tokenisation and digital finance
• Artificial intelligence and cybersecurity
• T+1 settlement preparations
• EU-UK regulatory cooperation
• Market resilience in an increasingly complex environment

🔗 Additional Resources

Learn more about ESMA: https://www.esma.europa.eu

Follow AFME on LinkedIn.

Follow AFME on X.

For more AFME Voices episodes, visit: https://www.afme.eu/news-insights/afme-voices