The Financial Stability Board will examine whether the growing fintech sector can harm the existing financial system. In March, the organisation is going to show its findings to the G20 finance ministers.

The FSB is closely monitoring innovations in financial technology and assessing their potential impact on the stability of the global financial system. So it is said in a letter of Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, who currently serves as the head of the board. The letter was addressed to the G20 finance ministers holding a meeting in Shanghai last weekend.

Close attention is being paid, first of all, to the innovations capable of transforming drastically financial institutes and infrastructure. Evaluating potential risks will be one of the main tasks of the FSB this year. The board will also develop a future plan to preserve global financial stability.

“The regulatory framework must ensure that it is able to manage any systemic risks that may arise from technological change without stifling innovation,” says the letter.

The beginning year is characterised by many national and international regulators' increasing concern about the lack of regulation in the fintech industry, in particular in the field of cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technology. Last week, the European Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs proposed to create a Task Force to assess the challenges brought by the emergence of blockchain applications, and to recommend regulatory measures. The European Council has recently agreed to develop new rules for virtual currency exchanges and wallet providers by the end of June.

The Financial Stability Board was created by the G20 countries in 2009 on the basis of the Financial Stability Forum, another organisation with similar functionality. The FSB consists of representatives of national financial authorities (central banks, finance ministries) from 24 countries and six organisations, such as the European Central Bank, European Commission, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and others. The main stated objective of the Council is to determine the problems of the world financial system and to develop and promote regulatory policy.  

Elena Platonova