HKMA to establish “Digitalisation Office”
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is said to be setting up a new “Digitalisation Office” which will be charged with overseeing the digital transformation work of the regulator, thus helping the HKMA to become more data driven.
Howard Lee, Deputy Chief Executive, HKMA, has said that the new Digitalisation Office is in the process of recruiting staff to carry out data processing and analysis, cultivate a culture of technology and help to formulate a long-term digital development strategy for the regulator.
The HKMA aims to capitalise on the new office in order to allow it to put technology and data to better use, as described by Lee. This is to strengthen the HKMA’s regulatory capabilities, risk assessment and operational efficiency, according to a report by Regulation Asia.
The digital transformation being undertaken by the HKMA spans across the areas of banking supervision, AML, financial stability surveillance, economic research and reserves management, as well as other functions, potentially.
In the near future, the HKMA plans to introduce a number of new initiatives to implement the transformation. The HKMA names banking supervision as an example - the HKMA is collecting more granular data from banks so as to obtain a fuller and more up-to-date picture on the state of their businesses. The regulator hopes that, in the long run, the use of new technology will replace the current requirement for banks to submit template-based regulatory reports, thereby lessening their reporting burden. This will be a win-win outcome for the HKMA and the banking industry.
The new measures will not only cut across different departments within the HKMA, but also hinge on close co-operation from the banking industry, public sector and various service providers, according to the blog post by Lee. In view of critical issues such as data security and privacy, the HKMA has put in place stringent mechanisms for the new data and procedures. Lee believes that the progressive development of these initiatives will ultimately bring profound changes to how the HKMA works as a central banking institution and a regulator, and will further enhance our efficiency in carrying out our duties.
According to Lee, it is crucial that the regulator’s talents and organisational structure keep pace with the technological changes. As such, the HKMA is going to set up a new “Digitalisation Office”. As its name suggests, the new office is tasked with overseeing the entire digital transformation work to help the HKMA become a more data-driven regulator. The HKMA will bring in talents in data science to work on data processing and analyses in close collaboration with other HKMA departments. The Digitalisation Office will also formulate a long-term digital development strategy for the HKMA and promote a culture of technology within the organisation.
“The digital transformation of the HKMA is a quest we have just set in motion,” writes Lee. “We welcome any aspiring talents to join the Digitalisation Office and dedicate themselves to the digital transformation journey of both the HKMA and the banking industry.”
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