The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) from Hong Kong and the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have agreed to establish a financial technology, or Fintech cooperation framework. According to the press release, eight members of the CSA are the participants of the deal arranged by both financial watchdog entities.

The CSA members include the Ontario Securities Commission, Autorité des marchés financiers (Québec), British Columbia Securities Commission, Alberta Securities Commission, Financial and Consumer Affairs Authorities of Saskatchewan, Manitoba Securities Commission, Financial and Consumer Services Commission (New Brunswick) and Nova Scotia Securities Commission. Per the announcement, the partnership seeks to share information regarding their innovation functions, which means “the dedicated function established by an authority to support innovation in financial services in their respective markets.”

“This agreement reflects the SFC’s continuing focus on strengthening regulatory cooperation with its counterparts and facilitating innovation in financial services. We look forward to working closely with these members of the CSA in sharing experiences and information with a view to supporting innovative firms’ communications with regulators globally,” Ashley Alder, the SFC’s Chief Executive Officer, commented on the matter.

The CSA’s Reaction to the Announcement

Moreover, Louis Morisset, CSA Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Autorité des marchés financiers, pointed out that registered firms based in their respective jurisdictions will have the opportunity to operate in growing regulated markets. “We are particularly proud to partner with the SFC, which plays a central role in the development of a fair, efficient and transparent Fintech industry,” he added.

In March 2016, Hong Kong’s SFC launched Fintech Contact Point, while the CSA deployed a regulatory sandbox in February 2017. Last month, the SFC revealed in its annual report 2020-21 that it had approved 188 collective investment schemes and 146 unlisted structured investment products for public offering during the mentioned period. As a result, SFC’s total number of licenses and registrants jumped to 47,178. The total number of licensed corporations spiked to 3,159.