NFGS Conference

The Center for Corporate Governance at Copenhagen Business School hosted the conference Rule Simplification and Competitiveness in the Financial Sector – Where Are We Heading? on 22 September 2026, with support from Nordic Finance and the Good Society.

The conference brought together researchers, regulators and representatives from the financial sector to discuss the growing complexity of financial regulation and its implications for European competitiveness. A central question throughout the conference was how regulation can be simplified without compromising the resilience and stability achieved in the financial sector since the financial crisis.

Topics:

The discussions highlighted that regulatory complexity is not necessarily the result of any single rule. Rather, complexity can accumulate through overlapping requirements, reporting obligations, national implementation and differences in supervisory practices. In an increasingly integrated European financial market, these differences can create additional friction for institutions operating across borders.

The conference also explored the Nordic perspective and the relationship between strong financial markets, regulation and competitiveness. Discussions considered whether greater harmonization and proportionality could help reduce unnecessary complexity, while preserving financial stability and investor protection.

A recurring theme was therefore that simplification does not necessarily mean less regulation, but can also mean clearer, more proportionate and more harmonised regulation.

SPEAKERS:

The conference featured presentations and discussions with:

Nina Dietz Legind, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority
Peter E. Storgaard, Deputy Director and Head of Financial Stability at Danmarks Nationalbank
Lars Gert Lose, CEO of Finance Denmark
Karel Lannoo, CEO of CEPS
Jesper Rangvid, Professor of Finance at Copenhagen Business School
Markus Mild, AVP Government Relations at Nasdaq
Anna-Delia Papenberg, Head of EU Affairs at NFU, Nordic Financial Unions
Jacob Gyntelberg, Chief Risk Officer at Jyske Bank

NCGN Workshop 2026

The Nordic Corporate Governance Network (NCGN) held its annual 2-day workshop on September 14-15, 2026 at Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki. The workshop brought together academics from across the Nordic and Baltic countries to present and discuss ongoing research in corporate governance.

Topics:

The programme covered a broad range of topics, spanning traditional corporate governance themes such as boards, ownership, executive compensation and regulation, as well as forward-looking research on AI and corporate governance, geopolitical risk and societal impact.

Alongside contributions from established researchers, the workshop featured a dedicated PhD track, where early-career scholars shared their ongoing research. It was particularly inspiring to gain insight into emerging research agendas and some of the projects that are likely to shape the future of the corporate governance field.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
The Workshop featured keynote presentations by:

• Ruth V. Aguilera, who shared her perspectives on board work in the age of AI.
• Annu Nieminen that introduced us to The Upright Project and its innovative sustainability data.

NCGN Workshop 2025

The Nordic Corporate Governance Network (NCGN) held its annual 2-day workshop on September 11-12, 2025 at BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo. The workshop brought together academics from across the Nordic and Baltic countries to present and discuss ongoing research in corporate governance.

Topics:

The program covered a broad range of topics within contemporary corporate governance research, including ownership structures and ownership competence, board work and CEO-related issues, corporate governance models, and ESG and sustainability. Several sessions also addressed forward-looking challenges related to regulation, AI, and governance in a changing geopolitical and economic environment.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
The Workshop featured keynote presentations by:

• Professor Sven-Erik Sjöstrand , Stockholm School of Economics on corporate governance from and owner perspective.
• Professor Lasse Lien, Norwegian School of Economics on ownership competence and governance.
• Professor Tom Kirchmaier, London School of Economics and Copenhagen Business School on regulation, AI, and the future of governance

WEBINAR: The impact from regulation – where will the Nordic corporate governance model be in a world between Draghi and Musk?

The whole area of regulation is becoming a focal point both inside the EU with the publication of the Draghi report, and in the USA with the new Trump administration, calling for a radical shift. The green transition, lack of competitiveness, the defence situation in Europe and an aging population calls for new approaches. At the same time, the financial sector is drowning in regulation. The three heads of the Nordic FSA are asking for help and a completely different approach. In the USA, Elon Musk is now appointed to make a complete revolution in this area over a period of 18 months, which might be triggering a completely different digitalized and AI driven approach.

Hence, at the webinar on April 24th 2025 focus was on this new reality, and what could be a relevant Nordic research agenda as a response to these major challenges.

Key Speakers:

Key Subjects:

NCGN Workshop 2024

The Nordic Corporate Governance Network (NCGN) and Copenhagen Business School hosted a 2-day workshop on August 23-24, 2024 in Copenhagen. The Workshop was a forum for academics from the Nordic countries to present and discuss ongoing corporate governance research.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

• Prof.Sirimon Treepongkaruna, University of Western Australia, “Shareholder Litigation and Carbon Emissions”. Link to paper
• Prof. Jette Steen Knudsen, Copenhagen Business School, “Regulating the financial sector for sustainability – A Nordic Perspective.” Link to presentation
• Jesper Berg, Retired Director General Financial Supervisory Authority, “The EU regulatory machine” Link to presentation

KEY SUBJECTS

• Part 1: Ownership and cost of capital
• Part 2: Boards
• Part 3: CEO incentives and top management issues
• Part 4: Corporate Governance, Reporting, Sustainability, and Performance