Opportunities and Risks of the Digital Revolution in Banking

With technology, banking is undergoing a major revolution. With aspects to take advantage of and others to be more cautious with, explains Corrado Passera, Founder & CEO of illimity and Bocconi alumnus, in a conversation in the Executive Chats series with Rector Gianmario Verona.

"We are on the verge of radical innovation and regards for example blockchain and digital payment systems it is good to compete and innovate," he says. "But regards cryptocurrencies, for example, currencies are a vital part of our sovereignty and they cannot be privatized. They have to be managed and regulated carefully. For sure we need digital euros as fast as possible as Europe is lagging behind China and the US."

Regards the experience of illimity, "we took full advantage of technology and we are totally digital and data centred. But technology is a means, not an end. Our end is to satisfy the needs of Italy's SMEs."

According to Passera, technology also plays a vital role in education. "It is key to making education more inclusive and efficient. But business schools have to be more courageous in addressing entrepreneurship, leadership and including ESG principles in all core courses."