Press Release No. 19/27

IMF High-Level Advisory Group Meets in Singapore to Deepen Discussions on Fintech

March 1, 2019

• Data and cybersecurity are key areas, says Managing Director Lagarde.
• The Bali Fintech Agenda will serve as a framework for Fund’s engagement with its members.

Following the launch of the Bali Fintech Agenda, developed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, the Fund is deepening its engagement with a broad range of public and private sector stakeholders.

On November 14, 2018, the Fund convened the second meeting of the High-Level Advisory Group on Finance and Technology alongside the Singapore FinTech Festival, hosted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The meeting was co-chaired by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, and Ravi Menon, Managing Director of MAS.

“We are starting to develop specific work programs on fintech guided by the Bali Fintech Agenda, as the nature and scope of our members’ needs become clearer. Part of this will involve research and policy analysis focusing on some of the themes highlighted in the Agenda,”  the Managing Director said in her opening remarks. “Two of these are data and cybersecurity. Technology-driven advances in the collection, analysis and use of data are transforming economies, including the financial sector. These developments raise new and complicated questions regarding data ownership and use, as well as access and protection --- particularly as the number and sophistication of cyber-attacks continues to increase, including against the financial sector.”

“Realizing the full potential of Fintech while minimizing its risks requires coming to grips with issues related to data governance and cyber security – and this is what the advisory group focused its attention on during our meeting in Singapore,” stated the MAS Managing Director Menon in his opening remarks. “The Bali FinTech agenda sets out a useful roadmap and MAS is happy to work closely with the IMF to advance the growth of Fintech while maintaining financial stability and public confidence.”

The members of the High-Level Advisory Group are:

• Jeremy Allaire, Chief Executive Officer, Circle

• Dr. Long Chen, President, Alibaba Digital Economy Institute (formerly Chief Strategy Officer of Ant Financial Services Group)

• Santiago Fernandez de Lis, Chief Economist of Financial Systems and Regulation, BBVA

• Robert Garrison, Managing Director and Chief Information Officer, Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation

• Sharon Yang, Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Financial Markets, US Treasury

• Erwin Haryono, Head of Fintech Office, Bank Indonesia

• Chris Larsen, Executive Chairman, Ripple

• Klaus M. Löber, Head of Oversight Division, Directorate General Market Infrastructure and Payments, European Central Bank

• Adam Ludwin, Chief Executive Office, Chain

• Blythe Masters, Board Member, Digital Asset

• Greg Medcraft, Director, Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development

• Professor Robert Merton, MIT Sloan

• Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore

• Mu Changchun, Deputy Director-General of the Payment and Settlement Department, People’s Bank of China

• Patrick Murck, Fellow at the Harvard Berkman Klein Center

• Marco Santori, President and Chief Legal Officer, Blockchain.com

• Carolyn Wilkins, Senior Deputy Governor, Bank of Canada,

• Bradley J. Wiskirchen, Chief Executive Officer, Kount

• Nasir Zubairi, Chief Executive Officer, Luxembourg House of Financial Technology