By Andrew Moyle and Stuart Davis
The UK government’s 2017 Autumn Budget included some measures of particular interest for fintech firms, demonstrating the government’s continued commitment to making the UK a world-leading fintech hub.
The government has provided only scant detail on these measures at present, but no doubt firms will be watching closely to see how they are developed, and what benefits they can bring for the fintech sector.
By Andrew Moyle, Stuart Davis, and Charlotte Collins
On 15 November 2017, the European Central Bank (ECB) published a newsletter containing an article on how the ECB is dealing with the increasing number of fintech bank applications. The ECB is the banking supervisor, alongside national regulators, for all “significant” banks authorised in Eurozone countries. As such, the ECB is involved with the authorisation of such entities.
The ECB also reports that it is in the process of implementing a fintech hub, which will serve as a central point amongst Eurozone countries for information and questions about fintech.
Acknowledging the need to balance scope for innovation against maintaining appropriate safeguards, such as adequate regulatory capital requirements, the ECB has developed a “Guide to the assessment of fintech bank licence applications”. This guide is meant to help fintech bank applicants better understand the authorisation process and the ECB’s assessment criteria.