N E W S Regulator
HKMA opens Academy of Finance
The Hong Kong
Monetary Authority
has launched an
Academy of Finance
in an effort to train
world-class financial
leaders. The academy
will invite about
100 top executives
from Hong Kong’s
banking, finance and
insurance industries to
participate in a development program involving workshops and research as members.
HKMA’s deputy chief executive Yuen Kwok-hang said there will be no exams, no
classroom study or any training. But HKMA would expect the members to be actively
involved in the development program, which will involve a lot of heavyweight speakers,
workshops and research. The members will not be required to pay a fee to attend and
the academy will be funded by the Exchange Fund with a budget of HK$80 million
for the first year.
Indian bank customers can now lodge complaints online
Bank customers in India can now lodge complaints against banks online through a
Complaint Management System introduced by the Reserve Bank of India. The software
application intended to facilitate RBI’s grievance redressal process has been introduced
on the RBI’s website. Customers can lodge complaints against any regulated entity
with public interface such as commercial banks, urban cooperative banks and NBFCs.
The complaints lodged will be directed to the appropriate office of the Ombudsman/
Regional Office of the RBI. The app is accessible on desktop as well as on mobile devices.
The RBI also plans to introduce a dedicated IVR system for tracking the status of
complaints. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said the application improves transparency
by keeping the complainants informed through auto-generated acknowledgements and
enabling them to track the status of their complaints and file appeals online against the
decisions of the Ombudsmen, where applicable.
German central bank head against digital currencies
The president of Deutsche Bundesbank Jens Weidmann feel digital currencies
could destabilize financial systems and worsen bank runs. He said at a symposium
the widespread use of digital central bank money could have serious consequences
and should not be introduced without being well thought through. For instance, said
he, easy access to digital money could exacerbate bank runs in times of crises. In a
crisis, financial stability may be more vulnerable than it is today, with digital central
bank money very liquid and secure investment alternative. Therefore, both ‘escape to
safety’ in general and a digital bank run in particular could take place faster and to a
greater extent than in the past, he said. Even in the good times, a central bank digital
currency could bring a fundamental shift in the business models of banks, as well as in
intermediation of the financial markets, he added.
Malaysia regulator to cover insurance aggregators
Bank Negara Malaysia is soon starting to regulate businesses that deal with insurance
and takaful aggregation under the Financial Services Act of 2013. Insurance
marketplaces in the country will have to register under the Financial Services Act once
the rule becomes operational. The central bank is seeking comments on an exposure
draft, which defines aggregators as digital platforms that source, compile, compare and
facilitates the sale of insurance and takaful products. The proposed law would also cover
those under the fintech regulatory sandbox.
SAMA launches Esal
Saudi Arabia has launched an electronic
bill placement and payment platform
called Esal. The Governor of Saudi Arabia
Monetary Authority (SAMA) Dr Ahmed
Abdulkarim Alkolefi formally launched
Esal, which is developed by Saudi Payments.
The platform is considered as one of the
most important initiatives of the financial
sector development program that will
contribute to achieving the Kingdom Vision- Esal invoicing delivery platform is a
major step in the digitization of services
in Saudi Arabia, providing an integrated
solution for billing and payments between
government sectors, businesses and
suppliers. The platform provides a wide
range of advantages for both suppliers and
buyers which will help in cost reduction,
operational efficiency and time savings of
bill presentation and payment.
MAS to issue 5
digital bank licensesThe Monetary Authority of Singapore will
issue up to 5 new digital bank licenses,
enabling fintech companies to become
full-fledged banks. MAS said of the 5
license holders, up to 2 will be able to
become digital banks, as long as the
companies are based in Singapore and are
controlled by Singaporeans and serving
retail customers. The other 3 can become
digital wholesale banks, serving small
and medium enterprises and other non-
retail segments and are open to locally
incorporated foreign companies. The latter
banks are not allowed to take only fixed
deposits of at least S$250,000 and must
have a minimum paid-up capital of S$
million. Digital banks can operate without
any physical branch or teller machines
and need not have a history in the banking
business to apply.