The Chief Cashier of the Bank of England (BoE) Victoria Cleland has said publicly that the central bank will not stifle financial technology innovation as the central bank attempts to keep up with new developments in the field.
According to Cleland, the BoE will customize its new upcoming regulations in order to “give fintech space to grow” and that understanding technological innovation was a priority at the bank.
Most of the recent news surrounding fintech has been focused on digital currencies, like bitcoin, and a high security online ledger called blockchain, which can automate transactions and could be hugely beneficial in the financial industry in the future. The BoE has been looking at benefits, and also the risks of using such systems.
The comments from the senior BoE employee are seen by many observers as an attempted reassurance to fintech firms that their businesses are safe in London, which has been a hub of the industry.
“After the Brexit, policymakers are doing all they can to pander to certain industries they feel are important, and fintech is definitely one of those” said Michael Lane, Global Co-Head of the Investment Management Division at Shizuoka Capital Wealth Management in an email to clients.
“Companies have been worried about having their client base limited and being cut off from the euro zone market after the UK leaves the financial bloc.”
Cleland said she understands the concerns and will work with companies to make it clear where the goalposts are. “Obviously with a technology that is moving at such a fast pace it’s very difficult to draw up regulations for it,” she said in a press meeting. “Seeing that this is a global industry, we really need to see some parity from regulators around the world.”
With the alternative financial industry growing by a massive 80 percent last year alone, all eyes have been on the BoE and the Financial Stability Board, which is headed by Mark Carney the BoE Governor, to see what kind of rules are going to be enforced.
