HKMA Intensifies Focus on Regtech Adoption
HKMA published a summary of the flagship Regtech Conference “Unlocking the Power of Regtech,” along with the closing remarks from Arthur Yuen, the Deputy Chief Executive of HKMA. HKMA also announced winners of the Global Regtech Challenge, wherein regtech providers were invited to take part to showcase how their solutions may be applied to the local market to help solve common risk management and regulatory compliance pain points experienced by banks. Out of the four winning solutions, two were from Wolters Kluwer in the categories of compliance and risk management. Another notable development is the publication of the inaugural Regtech Adoption Index (RAI), which is compiled based on a comprehensive analysis of the regtech adoption status in the banking industry in Hong Kong.
The results of the first Regtech Adoption Index indicated that the majority of banks in Hong Kong had embarked on their regtech journeys and that there are enormous opportunities for growth and collaboration within the regtech ecosystem. In his closing remarks, Mr. Yuen outlined the reasons HKMA is prioritizing regtech and discussed ways to overcome regtech adoption challenges, grow and nurture regtech in Hong Kong, and achieve the regtech 2025 vision of HKMA. Looking ahead, HKMA expects the demand for regtech solutions to continue to grow. In the year ahead, HKMA plans to provide more guidance to the industry by issuing the Regtech Adoption Practice Guides, developing a regtech skills framework, and building a regtech knowledge hub. Mr. Yuen also shared four key takeaways for overcoming the challenges connected with regtech adoption:
- Stakeholder buy-in across financial institutions
- Use of good quality data to build effective models and generate decision-making insights while focusing on a solid set of data governance rules
- Adoption of robust risk management frameworks and starting on a small scale, for example by conducting a Proof of Concept in a business unit or implementing regtech in a cloud-based environment in a newly established part of their business
- Bridging of gaps in technical capability of banks via collaboration among regtech solution providers and professional services providers, such as technology firms and advisory firms, with some banks have already successfully implemented regtech using external vendor technology for some of their solutions
One of the key discussion topics during the conference was that collaboration among different parts of the ecosystem is crucial for overcoming the regtech adoption challenge. Another way to address adoption challenge could be to develop solutions for addressing common risk and compliance pain points experienced by banks. To this end, HKMA had held a regtech challenge, under which Wolters Kluwer emerged as a winner in two categories. With respect to Governance, Risk, and Compliance category, the problem statement of Wolters Kluwer was focused on the use of technology to optimize regulatory compliance of all internal and external obligations. Additionally, with respect to the solution win for the risk management category, the focus was on using technology to enhance the delivery of stress testing requirements, driven by needs across different risk, compliance, and business unit teams.
Keywords: Asia Pacific, Hong Kong, Banking, Regtech, Wolters Kluwer, Regtech Adoption Index, RAI, Cloud Computing, Regtech Adoption Practice Guide, Regtech Vision 2025, Regtech Ecosystem, HKMA
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