The Spanish Banking Association values the European Commission’s Fintech Action Plan, which aims to foster a more innovative and competitive financial sector so that the economy and society can benefit from technological advances applied to this industry.
This plan presented today is the result of the intense analytical work undertaken over the last two years by the Commission, which has included input from the AEB in consultation processes to ensure the financial sector contributes fully to the momentum of the European Digital Agenda.
The AEB hopes that the implementation and future development of the plan will allow all entities engaged in financial technology (Fintech) activities to innovate and drive the digitalization of the European economy, while guaranteeing adequate protection for financial services customers and financial stability.
The plan contains very positive and ambitious initiatives, but also others that postpone the implementation of concrete measures due to the need for greater knowledge regarding the impact of new technologies and technological innovation activities.
The Commission’s approach, while prudent and justified for some areas, may slow down the utilization of new technologies in the European financial services market by discouraging their integration and weakening its position in the global arena.
The AEB applauds the Commission’s willingness to remove obstacles to cloud usage and facilitate the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, taking into account the needs of the financial sector; as well as the possible review of the suitability of the current regulatory framework to ensure technological neutrality; or the creation of a Fintech Lab for interaction between the private and public sectors to improve the understanding of new technologies.
In the same vein, the Association supports the study of the different authorization and licensing regimes existing at a national level to review the regulatory perimeter of Fintech activity and prevent an uneven playing field between competitors performing the same activity.
On the other hand, while the push to implement “innovation facilitators” (hubs, sandboxes) in the different Member States under a European approach of identifying best practices and cooperation between supervisors is welcome, a more ambitious commitment by the Commission could generate greater benefits for the European market.
It is necessary for our authorities to understand the opportunities and challenges offered by new technologies, and for the regulatory and supervisory environment to adapt with agility and an innovative approach.
The deployment of a European experimentation field as a catalyst for innovation would allow for the achievement of one of the main objectives shared by the Commission and the banking industry: that the integration of new technologies is carried out in a secure manner for customers and the financial system. At the same time, it would provide European innovation with true scale, transcending national borders.
Digitalization and technological development can improve the quality and variety of financial services, complete the market, and improve efficiency, provided that the necessary measures are adopted for the control and management of new risks emerging from the digital environment.
