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Vol.20-2 (Dec 2025)

Powering the Future of Finance through AI and Digital Innovation

Foreword

Finance, Technology, and Power

Kenichiro Mizoguchi, President of HRI

The development of finance has always coincided with the evolution of technology. While settlement, risk management, and fair pricing are also key functions of finance, in this column, I will focus on “funding” and “investment” because they contribute to value creation directly. After the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the Rothschilds learned of the outcome・・・

Kenichiro Mizoguchi

HRI Report

The Future of Finance in 10 Years

Ippei Nishida
Senior Researcher, Financial Strategy and Society Research Group, 1st Research Department
Yusuke Matsumoto
Researcher, Financial Strategy and Society Research Group, 1st Research Department

The world is shifting from globalization to a fragmented, mosaic‑like order. Advances in technologies such as generative AI are accelerating discontinuous digitalization and transforming social structures. This report analyzes how these two shifts affect the functions of finance and outlines what finance may look like ten years from now.

Ippei Nishida,Yusuke Matsumoto

Contributions

The Future of Finance: Irreversible Tectonic Shifts and the Proper Role of Financial Institutions

Nana Otsuki
Professor, Graduate School of Nagoya University of Business and Commerce

The financial industry is undergoing irreversible transformation driven by regulatory changes, technological innovation, and the rise of non-bank and digital assets. Banks must redefine their traditional business models by investing in AI and blockchain, expanding non-financial services, and developing talent, to enhance customer experience and maintain competitiveness in this new era.

Nana Otsuki

The Evolution and Prospects of Digital Finance in Europe

Lorenzo Moretti
Research Fellow, Florence School of Banking and Finance, European University

Innovation has long been part of finance: from the invention of new financial instruments such as debt and fractional shares to the digitisation of trading and settlement processes, innovation has allowed people better access to capital and capital to be more efficiently deployed. Each technological leap has created efficiencies but also introduced new risks,・・・

Lorenzo Moretti

Stablecoin and the Future of Financial Market Infrastructures

Shuji Kobayakawa
Professor, School of Political Science and Economics, Meiji University

Stablecoins have recently emerged as a prominent form of private digital money, attracting growing attention. Their ease of use has driven widespread adoption, particularly among U.S. dollar-pegged variants. However, they face challenges in integrating with central bank money. To safeguard the integrity of payment systems, it is essential to pursue technological solutions that enhance trust.

Shuji Kobayakawa

New Social Innovation Built by Ecosystems Between Financial Institutions and Companies in Other Industries

Hitoshi Ichimura
Senior Research Manager, Vertical & Cross Technologies Research Group, IDC Japan

Japanese financial institutions face environmental changes such as market contraction and low interest rates, and are promoting expansion into non-financial fields and collaboration with companies in other industries for sustainable growth. This paper discusses the prospects and challenges of new business models and social innovation created through mutual support between financial institutions and companies in other industries.

Hitoshi Ichimura

Voice from the Business Frontier

Disruption Incoming: How are Non-financial Entrants Approaching the U.S. Financial Sector?

Michael Lewandowski
Principal, Financial Services Lead, Method

I’ve been with Method for five years, and in my role as Lead for Financial Services, I lead the solutions for all opportunities that come to Method from a financial services perspective, and I also participate in delivery, as well as thought leadership and offering development. I work closely with GlobalLogic's financial services too, and we partner on our・・・

Michael Lewandowski

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