Financial sector regulators ink accord on fintech oversight

Financial sector regulators Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC), and Insurance Commission (IC) have entered into an agreement to establish a cooperative oversight framework on financial technology (fintech) innovation.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, SEC Chairman Emilio Aquino, IC Commissioner Dennis Funa, and PDIC president and CEO Roberto Tan signed the memorandum of agreement on fintech oversight, the central bank said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The institutionalization of the Cooperative Oversight Framework on FinTech innovation symbolizes our unity in diversity and reinforces the spirit of shared commitment among financial sector supervisors to espouse an enabling regulatory environment in the digital financial economy,” Diokno said.

The framework shall cover all financial institutions performing multiple regulated activities using a single application platform and wherein such activities fall within the regulatory regime of the member-agencies, according to the BSP.

It added that the framework aims to facilitate seamless regulation and supervision of fintech companies across the financial sector leveraging on the consultative and collaborative platform under the MOA. 

This will ensure that risks attendant to FinTech activities are effectively managed without stifling innovation, according to the BSP.

The operationalization of the MOA is seen to avoid regulatory overlaps and arbitrage and promote adherence to standards set out in relation to cyber security, anti-money laundering/combatting of financing of terrorism, and consumer protection, it said. — Ted Cordero/BM, GMA News