The European Union entered 2025 with a major overhaul of the rules governing the functioning of the banking sector and fintech companies . According to financial analyst Chaslau Piastsiuk, the new regulatory wave simultaneously opens up new opportunities for tech players and makes life more difficult for classic financial institutions . The ongoing transformations are not isolated changes , but are shaping a new systemic logic of financial regulation in the EU . Regulators no longer focus solely on market stability . The focus is now on transparency , digital ethics , resilience to cyber threats and responsibility for climate impacts . This means that every player , from a neo-bank to an infrastructure clearing house, must rethink its role in the financial ecosystem .
According to Piastsiuk, the biggest challenge is not the regulatory changes themselves , but their complexity and parallelism . Banks and fintech companies are forced to simultaneously adapt to dozens of different initiatives : from cybersecurity to climate testing. And this requires not only resources , but also a new culture of regulatory risk management .
Digital Financial Infrastructure : Crypto and AI Under Control
Since the end of December 2024 , the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation has been in force in the EU , which establishes uniform rules for crypto assets , exchanges, wallets and stablecoin issuers . They should ensure consumer security and transparency in the crypto asset market , creating conditions for their legal implementation in the traditional financial ecosystem . At the same time , new reporting and capitalization requirements may become a critical barrier for smaller companies .
In parallel , the first one will start operating in 2025 pan-European AI Act , regulating the use of artificial intelligence in the banking sector . “Unacceptable” models (such as manipulative or discriminatory risk assessment systems ) are already prohibited, and from August 2026, regulation of high-risk AI solutions will come into force . In particular, in scoring and credit products . This will force banks and fintech companies to implement internal AI monitoring systems and invest in algorithmic ethics .
According to Chaslau Piastsiuk, the new rules not only complicate routine product development processes , but also create the preconditions for deeper cooperation between technology startups and banks . The integration of AI solutions and crypto products within the regulated field can give a competitive advantage to those companies that are the first to learn how to combine the speed of innovation with compliance .
Resilience and speed : cyber defense, derivatives , settlements
In 2025-2026 , banks and technology companies will step up preparations for implementation The Cyber Resilience Act , which sets mandatory digital security requirements for the entire financial infrastructure : from mobile applications to cloud services . Although it is expected to come into force in 2027, market participants are already changing their processes in accordance with the new standards , which is especially relevant for open API providers.
In parallel, the EU is updating its rules for handling derivatives and settlement operations through the implementation of EMIR 3.0 and the FASTER directive. These documents focus on centralizing clearing and speeding up payments in euros , which , according to experts , will strengthen reporting and technical compatibility requirements .
For fintech companies , this is an opportunity to occupy a niche in the segment of “infrastructure” solutions . And for traditional banks, the new regulatory framework is a challenge for rapid adaptation . Financial analyst Chaslau Piastsiuk emphasizes that the combination of cyber resilience and speed of settlements is becoming a new standard of market reliability .
It is those companies that can simultaneously meet high technical security standards and provide instant customer service that will shape the architecture of European finance in the next decade .
Capital and climate : balancing stability and sustainable development
In June 2025 , the European Commission officially postponed the implementation of the Basel III standards (CRR3/FRTB) until January 2027. The reason is the need to preserve regulatory synchronization with the United States , where the Donald Trump administration is preparing a large-scale deregulation of the financial sector . Chaslau Piastsiuk notes that this is only a short pause : key banks are already preparing for new requirements , in particular in terms of trading portfolio and liquidity .
A separate transformation awaits banking assets due to the introduction of the ” climate factor ” in the ECB policy from the second half of 2026. This means that preferences will be given to “green” assets during refinancing . Piastsiuk assesses this approach as a fundamental shift in the motivation of banks . Because the transition to ESG will not be declarative , but financially necessary .
In practice, this creates new financial pressure on companies with a high carbon footprint , in particular in the energy , transport and agribusiness sectors . At the same time, banks that are already restructuring their portfolios towards sustainable investments will gain an advantage in accessing ECB resources. According to Chaslau Piastsiuk, those institutions that combine compliance with the new capital requirements with climate policy will secure leadership in the future structure of European banking .
In 2025-2026 , the EU financial sector is entering a phase of deep regulatory transformation . A new wave of regulations changes the very logic of the game . The focus will now be on transparency , ethics and sustainability . As financial analyst Chaslau Piastsiuk sums up, these changes do not just complicate reporting , they rewrite competitive advantages in the market . The winners are not those who take more risks , but those who adapt faster .
The EU regulatory map is becoming more than just a set of requirements. It is transforming into a strategic infrastructure for a new generation of finance . Financial institutions that are able to integrate digital , ethical and ESG -oriented standards into their business model will form the core of the future European market . As Piastsiuk notes , these are the companies that will not only withstand the pressure of the regulatory wave , but will use it as a growth point .
This process will not happen overnight . There are years of gradual adaptation , strategy revision and new partnerships ahead . But it is already clear : those who ignore the trend towards systemic responsibility risk losing access to capital , regulatory support and customer trust . As Chaslau Piastsiuk emphasizes , the new era of finance in the EU is not starting somewhere in the future . It is already underway .
By Chris Bates
