Dame Susan Langley says UK will use G20 presidency to shape digital trade standards

Speaking to the ICC Banking Commission at Mansion House, the Lady Mayor of London pointed to English law and the Electronic Trade Documents Act. She urged delegates to “trade more, invest more”.

The Lady Mayor of London, Alderwoman Dame Susan Langley, told the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Banking Commission‘s autumn meeting that the UK’s coming G20 presidency is a chance to set international standards for digitisation and artificial intelligence (AI) in finance.

On 10 November 2026 she spoke in the Egyptian Hall at Mansion House, which hosted the second day of the three-day meeting. Langley said the UK had “a remarkable opportunity to not only shape international standards for digitisation and AI and help define the future of the global financial system”. She added that it could bring City expertise “into the important discussions on trade, finance, and growth that will follow”. The UK will also hold the G7 presidency in 2028.

Langley spends around 100 days a year travelling to promote the City. She singled out English law as one of the UK’s major assets.

“Out of every five cross-border business and financial transactions in the world, two use English law,” she said. “Contracts are enforced. Disputes are resolved. And in an increasingly uncertain world, that is, quite simply, priceless.”

She warned against complacency ahead of a panel on electronic rules and digital standards.

“Artificial intelligence. Tokenisation. The digitisation of financial markets. Technologies that are not simply changing how financial services operate, but fundamentally reshaping what they will become,” she said. “And the pace is breathtaking.”

As evidence that the UK was modernising “the legal foundations to commerce”, she cited two examples. The first was the Electronic Trade Documents Act, “which enables qualifying electronic trade documents to have the same legal effect as their paper equivalents”. The second was the City’s regulatory sandboxes, “which have now been adopted globally”.

Langley also argued for openness at a time when many countries are turning to protectionism.

“In our volatile, unpredictable world where the certainties of yesterday can no longer be taken for granted, it can be all too tempting to turn inward – to build walls and shut ourselves off – to protect what we have,” she said. “But this is precisely the moment to do the very opposite. To reach out. To trade more, invest more, share ideas, technology, and expertise more.”

She said London “has reinvented itself time after time”, from its beginnings as a trading port through the Great Fire, war and global financial crises.

“Resilient. Trusted. And open. Not simply a place to do business, but a reliable partner that can be depended on,” she said.

Langley thanked the ICC Banking Commission for bringing the meeting to London. She said she hoped delegates would “turn those connections into concrete, long-term partnerships”.