At the Hong Kong Fintech week, the Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Mr Ashley Alder, announced the rollout of a new regulatory framework for virtual asset trading platforms.  The regulation of virtual asset trading platforms (and whether they should fall within the SFC’s regulatory oversight) has been a key regulatory priority for the SFC over the past year (please see the SFC’s 1 November 2018 statement here).  The new…

In response to the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) by banks, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has provided guidance to the banking industry on the use of AI applications.  These are high level principles (set out briefly below) which banks are expected to take into account when designing and adopting their AI and big data analytics applications. Governance The board and senior management remain accountable for all AI-driven decisions. Accordingly, they should ensure…

The Securities and Futures Commission (the SFC) has issued a circular (the Circular) to licensed corporations (LCs) on the use of external electronic data storage providers[1] (EDSPs) and updated the frequently asked questions on the premises for business and record keeping in light of the Circular. In addition to setting out the SFC’s expectations for the mitigation of cyber and operational risks when electronic data storage is outsourced, the Circular also details requirements that…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (the HKMA) has issued a circular to authorized institutions (AIs) to clarify expectations around the minimum level of consumer protection required under the Open API Framework.  For background information on Hong Kong’s Open API Framework, please refer to our previous blog post on its initial launch here as well as our global comparative guide on open banking here. The circular notes the following key points: AIs are required to…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has revised its supervisory policy manual module TM-E-1 (SPM) on risk management of e-banking.  This SPM is a non-statutory guideline issued as a guidance note. The revisions are intended to strengthen risk management controls for e-banking given the rise in cyber threats and fraud risks, introduce changes to cater for virtual banking, and clarify certain existing requirements relating to new digital banking services. Authorized Institutions (AIs) are expected to identify…

The Insurance Authority has issued an explanatory note to provide guidance on the extent to which certain banking activities involving insurance would be regarded as regulated activities under the new regulatory regime for insurance intermediaries (to read further on the new regime which came into operation on 23 September 2019, please refer to our blog posts here and here). The explanatory note has been prepared in consultation with (amongst others) the Hong Kong Monetary…

On 11 October 2019, the Government and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published the Securities and Futures (Investor Compensation – Levy) (Amendment) Rules 2019, the Securities and Futures (Investor Compensation – Compensation Limits) (Amendment) Rules 2019 and the Securities and Futures (Investor Compensation – Claims) (Amendment) Rules 2019 (together, the IC Amendment Rules) in the Gazette, following the release of the SFC’s consultation conclusions on the proposed enhancements to the investor compensation regime…