"We're seeing the CEE and the traditional western and central European countries becoming more interrelated. And [geographically] we're very close, Warsaw is closer to Berlin than London and its about the same distance to Frankfurt." Gregory goes on to say "We're seeing implications from Brexit, which is going to affect much of Europe alike. Trends such as, increased EU regulation and harmonisation are attempts to create a level playing field, that will effect CEE as well as central Europe. It will be interesting to see how future deals will play out in the wake of Brexit"

Felix Blobel advises growth companies, founders and investors on equity capital financings, acquisitions and exit transactions. His clients include Zalando, Rocket Internet, Global Founders Capital and Scottish Equity Partners. He also acts as a mentor at the Berlin-based start-up accelerator programs German Tech Entrepreneurship Centre (GTEC) and Berlin Start-Up Academy.

"Fintech is moving away from the confrontational phase we saw when the first wave of companies were aggressively attacking traditional banks business models" Blobl says when asked about where he sees the sector moving in the future. "A lot of fintech companies are realising that services they need to offer in order to make their business models work require a banking licence - either [themselves] or a banking partner that has a licence. It's now less black and white and we're seeing convergence" 

In the interview, Felix Blobel also explores whether regulators are keeping up to date with all the new products entering the market and how he advises FinTech clients requiring new licences. 

Watch the full interview here. 

Catherine Ford Consultant Editor Acuris Studios

Catherine Ford is a consultant editor to event programmes, and engaged in the development of timely editorial content for global corporate finance, M&A and capital markets related conferences and events. She routinely moderates discussion panels at conferences across the region. She has worked for Acuris since early 2002, holding a number of senior editorial roles in the company’s European, US and Asia-Pacific head offices.