Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue today met with the CEOs of the three chairman banks of the The Hong Kong Association of Banks (HSBC, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Standard Chartered) to discuss SME and property mortgage lending issues. In the past few years, the HKMA has been supporting SMEs with the banking sector through various measures like the Pre-approved Principal Payment Holiday Scheme. In March this year, the HKMA launched nine support measures for SMEs, benefitting around 14,000 SMEs with over HK$31 billion in credit. The HKMA also exchanged views with over 20 trade associations and representatives of various industry sectors to understand the needs of SMEs. Today, we announced that the HKMA and the HKAB together established a joint Taskforce on SME Lending to further strengthen the related work. With the establishment of the Taskforce, we aim to: • Set up a mechanism to review individual SME cases encountering difficulties in obtaining bank financing and refer to relevant banks for prompt handling, • Identify common issues and work out solutions to be adopted across the banks, • Enhance communication among the HKMA, banks and the commercial sector to better understand SME financing needs and provide better support for development and transformation of SMEs. “The HKMA and the banking sector will work together to continue providing support for SMEs seeking bank financing, and walk side-by-side with SMEs to get through this rather difficult time,” Eddie Yue remarked. #HKMA #SME #Banking #Taskforce #BusinessGrowth #HongKongEconomy

⏰ Save the date! Join us for the inaugural HKMA–DFSA Joint Climate Finance Conference on 16 September 2024! The HKMA and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) are proud to co-host this flagship event. Themed “Building a Net-zero Asia – Middle East Corridor”, the conference aims to further promote the deepening relationship between Hong Kong and Dubai on sustainable finance. It will explore common opportunities and challenges in accelerating the development of transition finance across Asia and the Middle East. A highlight of the conference will be an engaging fireside chat between Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the HKMA, and Ian Johnston, Chief Executive of the DFSA. Participants can also look forward to panel discussions led by industry experts, exploring key topics such as channelling capital into transition, and the future of transition. For more details on the conference, including the programme, speaker information and registration, please visit: https://lnkd.in/dx_aByxY #climatefinance #netzero #capitaltransition #sustainablegrowth #sustainability #asia #middleeast

Climate risk management is a key focus of the HKMA’s supervisory work. To help banks comprehensively incorporate climate-related considerations into their risk governance frameworks, the HKMA today shares with the industry key observations and good practices identified from recent supervisory activities. These practices support banks in developing climate risk governance structure that can create positive impact, as well as facilitating robust oversight of the key aspects of climate-related risks and opportunities, covering strategy, risk management, and institutional risk culture. Check out the circular here: https://lnkd.in/g96tXQ_e Details of the good practices and key observations: https://lnkd.in/gPTTgtJv The HKMA will continuously advance its supervisory approach and work closely with banks to help build their climate risk management capabilities, including exploring how technological solutions can be deployed, and addressing climate-related data gaps. What’s next from HKMA? A Regtech use-case bulletin, featuring an AI-powered ESG solution to mitigate greenwashing risks, will be published soon. Also, please stay tuned for FiNETech3 in Q4, which explores the potential of Greentech! #HKMA #ClimateRelatedRisk #Riskmanagement #RegTech

The Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group (CASG), co-chaired by Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of HKMA and Julia Leung, CEO of Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), held a meeting yesterday. The Steering Group, established in 2020 and consisting of financial regulators, the Exchange and government bureaux, co-ordinates cross-sectoral policies and efforts in promoting the development of green and sustainable finance in Hong Kong, with a recent focus on sustainability disclosures, technology adoption and transition finance. At the meeting, members discussed the key progress made and the next steps for adopting IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards in Hong Kong. This includes engaging stakeholders in sustainability disclosures and assurance, as well as introducing and fine-tuning several data and technology tools. Members also discussed developments on the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance, green fintech, transition finance and carbon markets. The Steering Group will continue to make a concerted effort to accelerate the growth of green and sustainable finance in Hong Kong. #CASG #GreenFinance #SustainableFinance #HongKongGreenFintechMap #SustainabilityDisclosure #GreenFintech #TransitionFinance #technology #innovation

The HKMA and the banking industry are collaborating with the Hong Kong Police Force to raise public awareness of fraud and scams, and enhance banks’ capabilities to detect and prevent fraud and mule account networks. At a recent media briefing, the Police shared their “Anti-Deception Month” campaign against the background of growing numbers of deception cases, in which scammers impersonate customer service staff or target Mainland students studying in Hong Kong. In response to these threats, Raymond Chan, Executive Director (Enforcement and AML) of the HKMA highlighted the work priorities of the HKMA in collaborating with the Police and the banking industry to combat fraud: ✅ enhancing public awareness of fraud and scams, including a targeted public awareness campaign to alert Mainland students in Hong Kong and remind the public to stay vigilant against the latest scam tactics and verify any suspicious activities with the Police where necessary; ✅ expanding bank-to-bank information sharing by increasing the number of participating banks and proposing amendments to the Banking Ordinance to enable banks to share information on personal accounts through the Financial Intelligence Evaluation Sharing Tool (FINEST) in cases where financial crime may be involved; and ✅ promoting the adoption of Regtech by banks, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), to leverage data and network analytics techniques for more effective detection and prevention of fraud and mule account networks. More anti-fraud campaigns are being launched by the HKMA, the Police, the Chinese Banking Association of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Association of Banks. Stay tuned! Swipe through the photos below for the media briefing’s highlights and join us to form a powerful anti-deception eco-system to combat fraud and scams. #HKMAprotects #HKMAantiscam #HKMAeducates #AntiScam #DataSecurity #ConsumerProtection #ScamPrevention

The HKMA co-hosted FiNETech2, the second edition of the flagship FiNETech Series – “Into the A.I.verse” – with Cyberport Hong Kong and FinTech Association of Hong Kong (FTAHK). This cross-sectoral occasion brought together over 300 participants from banks, securities, insurance, and technology companies to explore the unlimited potential of A.I. Carmen Chu, Executive Director (Banking Supervision) of the HKMA, highlighted in her opening remarks the new GenA.I. Sandbox, the latest collaborative initiative by the HKMA and Cyberport. The Sandbox will provide both technical and supervisory support and enable banks to test out their GenA.I. solutions in a risk-controlled environment. Read more about the launch here: https://lnkd.in/gz9B_jwi https://lnkd.in/gxrTXMUd At the FiNETech2 event, experts from Microsoft and industry professionals from Cyberport, FTAHK, The University of Hong Kong, HSBC HK, Alibaba Cloud shed light on GenA.I.’s impact on the digital experience, as well as its associated benefits and risks. Solution providers also showcased their GenA.I. technologies through booth exhibitions and demonstration sessions. Our gratitude is extended to financial regulators (Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Insurance Authority, Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA)), industry associations (The Hong Kong Association of Banks, FTAHK), and Cyberport for their continuous support. Special thanks to KPMG China and Quinlan & Associates for powering this event. Stay tuned for details of the new GenA.I. Sandbox in the coming weeks and keep an eye out for more game-changing FiNETech events exploring technologies beyond A.I.! Participating Fintech providers: AlgoBot Limited, BytePlus, D-Engraver AI, FCC ANALYTICS, Fill Easy, INF Tech, Inriskable, LIBERTIFY, Planto, Propcap Technologies Limited, Stellaris AI, Votee AI, Wati #HKMA #FiNETech #FintechPromotionRoadmap #Fintech2025

As banks leverage financial technologies to digitalise financial services, the volume of data they collect from customers continues to grow. The protection of customer data has become more and more important. In the light of this development, the HKMA, Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong (PCPD) 香港個人資料私隱專員公署 and The Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) jointly organised a seminar on “Personal Data Management” for senior executives of banks. In the seminar, the PCPD shared effective measures designed to protect security of personal data, and provided practical guidance on the handling of incidents involving data breaches. 🔒 The participants found the sharing by the PCPD useful and there was an active exchange of views during the questions and answers session. #HKMAprotects #DataProtection #DataSecurity #Banking #FinTech

🌏 The HKMA is proud to be a supporting organisation of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association’s (HKGFA) seventh annual forum: “Financing Asia’s Net Zero Transition”. Join us on 9 October 2024 as we explore collaboration opportunities and strategies to achieve net zero. Kenneth Hui, Executive Director (External) of the HKMA, will participate in a fireside chat, alongside Christine Kung, Head of International Affairs and Sustainable Finance of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and other distinguished guests, moderated by Dr. Ma Jun, Chairman and President of HKGFA. They will have an in-depth discussion about the progress of transition in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Asia, as well as the development of sustainable finance. The forum will also explore the latest developments and drive discussions in sustainable finance, green technology and product innovation. We look forward to seeing you on the day! Join us in person or virtually by registering at https://lnkd.in/gGY76J4D. Let’s accelerate Asia’s green future through sustainable finance.   Hong Kong Green Finance Association (HKGFA) #2024HKGFAAF #greenfinance #sustainablefinance #netzero #financialsolutions #innovation #sustainability

📢 The HKMA has released the consultation conclusions on the review of the three-tier banking system. This follows a three-month public consultation launched last June, during which we received seven submissions from the banking industry, professional bodies, and relevant organisations. 🏛 The feedback broadly supported the HKMA’s proposal to merge deposit-taking companies (DTCs) into second-tier institutions, i.e. restricted licence banks (RLBs), over a five-year transition period. The current requirements for RLBs regarding minimum capital (HK$100 million) and minimum deposit size (HK$500,000) will be maintained. New parameters will be introduced to facilitate the transition and minimise impact on existing DTC customers: 1)   Existing DTCs will convert to RLBs without a need to submit new licence applications once they meet the minimum capital requirement during the transition period. 2)   Converted RLBs can continue to hold, renew or roll over outstanding deposits taken before the upgrade until the end of the 5-year transition period, subject to pre-existing deposit size and maturity requirements. Check out the full version of the conclusions paper here🙌: https://lnkd.in/dYaC2KNy #HKMA #ThreeTierBankingSystem #TwoTierBankingSystem #Regulation #PublicConsultation

The HKMA is taking steps to disrupt fraud and money laundering through strategic data sharing. Speaking during the Financial Institutions AML Forum 2024 organised by the Hong Kong Police Force last week, Raymond Chan, Executive Director (Enforcement and AML) of the HKMA shared insights on changes the HKMA is implementing to better protect bank customers: ✅ The bank-to-bank information sharing platform, Financial Intelligence Evaluation Sharing Tool (FINEST), had expanded from five participating banks to ten in August 2024; ✅ The HKMA’s proposals to amend the Banking Ordinance to allow banks to share information of personal customers in cases where financial crime may be involved, has received broad support in a public consultation. The HKMA is working towards introducing these legislative changes in 2025; and ✅ To help address the more challenging and complex criminal threat, the HKMA will shortly roll out further measures to accelerate Regtech adoption in key control areas including monitoring and surveillance of suspicious activity. Watch this space for further details. Three banks were also recognised in the forum for their efforts in disrupting financial crime and their role in protecting the integrity of the Hong Kong financial system. Swipe through the photos below for the forum’s highlights and join us in applauding the collective efforts in fighting financial crime! 🙌 #HKMAprotects #AML #CFT #FinancialCrime #RiskManagement #Innovation #Regtech