Innovation of Supervision Mode of Financial Conduct Supervision Bureau ―― Sandbox Project
Sandbox was originally a computer term, which refers to providing a test environment for some programs whose sources are untrustworthy, destructive or uncertain by limiting the code access rights of applications. Testing in the sandbox is mostly carried out in the real data environment, but due to the preset security isolation measures, it will not affect the real system and data.
"Regulatory sandbox" was initiated by Britain, which means that financial innovation institutions are allowed to conduct tests within the scope of application after submitting applications and obtaining limited authorization in accordance with the simplified examination and approval procedures stipulated by FCA on the premise of ensuring consumers' rights and interests. FCA will monitor the testing process and evaluate the situation to determine whether to give formal regulatory authorization and promote it outside the sandbox.
Generally speaking, enterprises applying for sandbox testing either cannot operate in compliance with the existing regulatory system at all, or the compliance cost is very high. Through the sandbox test, on the one hand, a small-scale real environment test can be realized under the control of the regulatory agency, and in the sandbox test, the testee will not lose any legal rights because of the test itself; On the other hand, sandbox testing can provide a clear perspective for regulators to look at the dialectical relationship between regulatory provisions and financial innovation, find out the regulatory provisions that harm consumers' long-term interests because of restricting innovation in time, and make adjustments at the first time, so as to truly let the innovative regulatory spirit such as moderate supervision and inclusive supervision land.
The Development Course and Characteristics of "Regulatory Sandbox" in Britain
The global financial crisis has fully exposed the inherent defects of financial supervision systems in various countries. 20 1 1 In June, the British government officially released the white paper "New Methods of Financial Supervision: Blueprint for Reform" to reform the British financial supervision system.
Since 20 13, the regulatory responsibilities of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the UK have been replaced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Supervision Authority (PRA). FCA is the continuation of FSA legal entity, and it is responsible for the behavior supervision of financial institutions such as banks, securities and insurance companies, as well as the behavior supervision and prudential supervision of financial service companies not regulated by PRA.
In recent years, the Fintech industry in Britain has developed rapidly. By the end of 20 14, the Fintech industry in Britain had reached 20 billion pounds, and the number of people engaged in financial technology services in the City of London exceeded 40,000. The British government also recognizes the important role of financial technology industry in investment and economic growth, and has set up special institutions to support the development of financial technology and give appropriate preferential treatment to start-ups in taxation and investment. In particular, it is proposed that the financial regulatory environment in Britain should help promote the innovation of Fintech industry and support the development of start-ups.
The British government is committed to strengthening Britain's leading position in the field of financial technology and has taken important measures to achieve this goal. To this end, the British FCA established Project Innovate and Innovation Hub to provide innovative enterprises with a variety of support such as docking with supervision and helping to obtain limited authorization. One year after the establishment of the Innovation Center, FCA began to study the feasibility of "regulatory sandbox" due to the good experimental results and the proposal of the British Government Science Office, and publicly solicited opinions. Finally, on 20 15, a "supervision sandbox" system was established, and corresponding departments were added.
The "regulatory sandbox" project provides a "regulatory experimental area" for emerging formats such as financial technology and new financial services, and supports the development of start-ups. The "regulatory sandbox" creates a "safe place" by means of experiments, appropriately relaxes the regulatory constraints of innovative products and services participating in experiments, and stimulates innovation vitality. Specifically, first of all, FCA screens enterprises interested in participating in the "regulatory sandbox". The screening conditions include the scale of the enterprise, whether the product is innovative, and whether the innovative product or service can promote the promotion of consumer welfare. Secondly, FCA selects suitable consumers according to the innovative products and services to be tested by enterprises, and requires enterprises to formulate consumer protection plans, including appropriate compensation. Finally, on the premise that the screening conditions are qualified, FCA allows the enterprises participating in the trial to introduce innovative products and services to customers, and the trial period is generally 3-6 months. According to the test results, FCA will formulate or improve regulatory policies to prevent financial risks while promoting the development of emerging formats such as Fintech.
The Development Course and Characteristics of Singapore's "Regulatory Sandbox"
Since the second half of 20 15, due to the continuous weakness of the world trade level, Singapore has adjusted its strategic development direction, made building a "smart country" a key development task of the government, fully supported market innovation, and injected new vitality into economic growth. In this context, Singapore has spared no effort to promote the development of Fintech enterprises, industries and ecological circles in combination with its own financial foundation, aiming to become a world intelligent technology power and intelligent financial center.
In order to guide and promote the sustainable and healthy development of Fintech industry, the "supervision sandbox" system was put forward in June 2065438+2006, which provided a good institutional environment for enterprise innovation. The supervision sandbox is a "test area". The market relaxes the legal supervision and restriction on products and services, allowing traditional financial institutions and start-ups to test innovations such as new products, services and models in this established "safe zone", and even modify and propose new legal systems according to the "test results". This "supervision sandbox" system is a financial supervision policy that is worth learning. On the one hand, the real-time requirement of innovation is high, and the regulatory approval period is long. Because there is no precedent, it is easy to miss the development opportunity of scientific and technological innovation. The "supervision sandbox" effectively solves this contradiction, allows innovation to be carried out immediately in the designated area and scope, and improves the ability of innovation and development; On the other hand, technological innovation has a high risk of failure, which may affect the interests of entrepreneurs and consumers. If it is not well controlled, it will even lead to systemic risks and undermine the stability of the financial system. "Regulatory sandbox" can control risks within a controllable range and reduce innovation risks.
The Development and Characteristics of Australia's "Regulatory Sandbox"
Australian Finance Minister Scott Morrison issued a statement on March 2, 20 16, saying that the federal government will approve the establishment and management of the Australian Securities Investment Committee (ASIC) to enable financial technology companies in the experimental stage to cope with regulatory risks, thus reducing the cost and time of listing.
20 16 12 14, the Australian securities and investment commission (hereinafter referred to as "ASIC") issued a regulatory guide. The guide allows qualified financial technology companies (Fintech) to test specific businesses without holding financial services or credit licenses after filing with ASIC.
This suggestion of exempting financial technology license first appeared in the exposure draft issued by ASIC in June 20 16. The published version is the version after ASIC adjusted the scheme according to the feedback from the financial science and technology community. At the same time, ASIC will adopt the supervision mode of "concrete analysis of specific problems". For some special projects, relevant enterprises are allowed to apply for extension, which can be extended for up to 12 months, and the number of test retail customers can be expanded to 200. However, eligible enterprises do not include companies such as online loans, but start-ups in the payment field can benefit from this exemption.
ASIC's financial technology company license exemption is unique. No mainstream regulatory agency has granted a certain kind of service exemption license. This will allow qualified enterprises to start commercial application testing without having to apply separately after notifying the regulatory authorities. Financial technology companies and start-ups now have more consumer-oriented channels to test their innovative financial services and credit services than ever before. Prior to this, they had to bear many regulatory costs before they could start running a company. ASIC's license exemption for financial technology companies reflects our support for financial service innovation. At the same time, it also pays attention to ensuring proper supervision of innovative products and services and protection of consumers.
Comparison of similarities and differences of "regulatory sandbox" in different countries
Britain, Singapore, Australia and other countries all use the "supervision sandbox" system to supervise Fintech. The "regulatory sandbox" was initiated by Britain, and Singapore improved it on the basis of following the British "regulatory sandbox", so generally speaking, Singapore's regulatory approach to Fintech is similar to that of Britain, but there are some differences.
First of all, as far as the subject of supervision is concerned, since 20 13, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the United Kingdom has been divided into the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Supervision Authority (PRA), and the supervision of Fintech has been brought into the scope of supervision of the FCA. In Singapore, monetary authority of singapore (MAS) newly established the Financial Technology and Innovation Team (FTIG) in August 20 15. In order to further support Fintech innovation, Singapore Innovation Bureau (SG-Innovation) and monetary authority of singapore (MAS) jointly established the Financial Technology Office in May 20 16 to manage financial technology business and provide one-stop services for innovative enterprises.
Secondly, in terms of supervision, Singapore is more relaxed and flexible than Britain. As a traditional financial center, Britain is more stable and strict in the establishment of its system. For example, Britain has more explicit requirements for Fintech enterprises to spend 3-6 months in the "regulatory sandbox"; Although Singapore also has time requirements for Fintech enterprises in the "regulatory sandbox", it has not given a specific time, and the time is more flexible.
Finally, as far as the scope of application of "regulatory sandbox" is concerned, although the purpose of issuing "regulatory sandbox" in both countries is to support financial innovation, the exposure draft of "Guide to Financial Technology Regulatory Sandbox" issued by Singapore clearly limits the scope to Fintech field, while the "regulatory sandbox" issued by Britain has a wider scope of application, which is applicable to "subversive innovation" and is not limited to Fintech field. The so-called "subversive innovation" mainly includes the following two points: first, it should be an innovation that can subvert the existing technology or market; Second, its core criterion is whether innovation is beneficial to consumers.
By comparing the supervision of Fintech in Singapore and Britain, we can see that the application of "supervision sandbox" system in the two countries is basically the same, but it is implemented according to the specific national conditions of the two countries. For other countries, if they want to learn from the "supervision sandbox" to supervise their own Fintech, they should also work out a suitable Fintech supervision road according to their own national conditions and their own soil.
China's "Regulatory Sandbox" and Its Future Development
In 20 13, Huang Zhen put forward soft law governance and flexible supervision at the central bank meeting, which was supported and valued by the central bank. China's idea of flexible supervision of Internet finance has a long history, and it is also in practice, as evidenced by the establishment of China Internet Finance Association and the start of normative work. In this respect, China is three years ahead of Europe and America.
At the press conference of "China Internet Finance Security Development Report 20 16" on February/7, Huo, Party Secretary of Beijing Financial Work Bureau, revealed that the Beijing Municipal Government will conduct a "regulatory sandbox" model experiment on Internet finance, taking the "Beijing Internet Finance Security Demonstration Industrial Park" located in Fangshan District of Beijing as the experimental point. During the trial of the "regulatory sandbox" model, efforts will be made to build an online loan industry association, namely the Beijing Online Loan Industry Association. In addition, Beijing Internet Financial Security Demonstration Industrial Park will focus on three types of undertakings. The first is the research and development of high-end technology and security technology; The second is the formulation of industry standards; The third is to gather top enterprises.
According to Huo, Beijing has a clear layout for the development of Internet finance, including the development of Internet technology in Zhongguancun and the centralized development of Internet financial security in Beijing Internet Financial Security Demonstration Industrial Park.
At the press conference, Huo pointed out that the demonstration role of Beijing Internet Financial Security Demonstration Industrial Park can be reflected in five aspects: First, organize demonstrations, and enterprises in the Internet financial ecology should be organized; Second, institutional advantages, highlighting institutional advantages; Third, "technology is the core of the demonstration industrial park", driven by technology, and extensive docking and experiments are carried out; Fourth, standard demonstration, through the internet financial security demonstration industrial park, formulate some Beijing industry standards or national standards or even world standards; Fifth, build a number of international top, domestic leading Internet financial security enterprises with exemplary role in the industry.
Source: Diga Institute.
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