Christodoulides praises CySEC at anniversary conference

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) marked its 30th anniversary with a conference in Nicosia attended by more than 160 guests, including officials and senior representatives of European supervisory authorities.

The event, held on April 29, focused on the regulator’s evolution over the past three decades and the future challenges facing financial supervision, particularly in relation to artificial intelligence, digital finance, and market integrity.

President Nikos Christodoulides described CySEC as a key pillar of Cyprus’ transformation into a modern financial centre and praised its role in safeguarding the stability of the investment sector.

“CySEC remains the guardian of transparency and stability, exercising substantive and rigorous supervision over the investment services sector to ensure the orderly functioning of the market,” the president said.

“Its role is vital for investor protection and the attraction of high-quality investments,” he added.

Christodoulides also stated that the government actively supports the authority’s operational capacity in order to address modern supervisory challenges and reinforce the international credibility of the Cypriot economy.

In his address, CySEC chairman George Theocharides reflected on the regulator’s development since its establishment in 1996.

He said that CySEC had evolved from a very small organisation into a modern European supervisory authority employing more than 200 professionals with multidisciplinary expertise and expanded supervisory capabilities.

“Today, CySEC stands as a resilient, modern, and fully integrated European supervisory authority, committed to effective supervision, investor protection, and the sustainable and sound development of the capital market,” Theocharides said.

He also highlighted the regulator’s growing focus on financial technology, crypto-assets, financial literacy, and investor education.

Discussing the future, Theocharides identified investor protection in the digital age, innovation-driven financial products, and market integrity as the three defining challenges for supervisory authorities over the next decade.

“CySEC approaches these challenges guided by enduring principles, independence in judgement, consistency in action and a steadfast commitment to continuous improvement,” he said.

Among the keynote speakers at the anniversary conference were European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) chair Verena Ross and International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) chair Jean Paul Servais.

“Together with CySEC and all other national supervisory authorities, we must create a European market that is ready for the future, resilient to shocks, attractive for investors, and easy to navigate for market participants,” Ross said.

She also referred to the EU’s Savings and Investments Union initiative, explaining that it seeks to unlock Europe’s innovation potential and remove barriers through more integrated and agile supervision.

Servais stressed that regulators must remain flexible and responsive in the face of rapidly evolving risks and increasingly interconnected financial markets.

“IOSCO supports this effort through the day-to-day cooperation of its more than 130 members,” he said.

The conference also featured a presentation by artificial intelligence expert and author Huy Nguyen Trieu, who discussed the accelerating use of AI technologies in the financial sector.

“Marking 30 years is not only about celebrating progress, but about preparing for the next 30, as AI and digital transformation reshape finance,” he said.

“It also reflects CySEC’s vision to be a future-ready regulator, where innovation, regulation, and trust evolve together,” he added.

Trieu further argued that the “third wave” of artificial intelligence represents a shift towards systems capable not only of prediction and content creation, but also of autonomous action.

The event also included a panel discussion on artificial intelligence involving Italian Securities and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) commissioner Carlo Comporti, Hellenic Capital Market Commission chair Vasiliki Lazarakou, and Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) director general Claude Marx.

Comporti said that technological innovation creates significant opportunities but also introduces substantial risks linked to cyber resilience, increasing complexity, and market concentration.

“If there is something that is difficult to understand, by definition it is also difficult to manage,” he stated.

Lazarakou said that technological developments can improve efficiency, broaden market access, and strengthen investor protection and market integrity.

“At the same time, these developments introduce new risks, including model opacity and the accelerating pace of technological change, requiring the continuous adaptation of regulatory tools, skills, and supervisory capabilities,” she added.

Marx argued that AI-based technologies could help supervisory authorities move closer to the objective of real-time supervision.

“Prime examples are the prevention of market abuse, money laundering and terrorist financing, or illegal offerings to EU customers from unauthorised providers of financial products and fraudulent offerings,” he said.

The anniversary conference concluded with a special ceremony honouring CySEC’s former chairpersons for their service and contribution to the institution’s development.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, CySEC also announced the creation of a dedicated online section marking its 30-year history, which will be updated throughout the year with additional material and archival content.