Janos Nathan Barberis

From FinTech to TechFin: The Regulatory Challenges of Data-Driven Finance

Financial technology (‘FinTech’) is transforming finance and challenging its regulation at an unprecedented rate. Two major trends stand out in the current period of FinTech development. The first is the speed of change driven by the commoditization of technology, Big Data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. The second is the increasing number and variety of new entrants into the financial sector, including pre-existing technology and e-commerce companies. This paper considers the impact of these new entrants with their typically large pre-existing non-financial services customer bases. These firms (loosely termed ‘TechFins’) may be characterised by their capacity to leverage the data gathered in their primary business into financial services. In other words, TechFins represent an Uber moment in finance. This shift from financial intermediary (FinTech) to data intermediary (TechFin) raises implications for incumbent financial services firms, FinTech startups and regulators. This seachange calls for analysis to underpin regulatory approaches with a view to balancing the competing interests of innovation, development, financial stability and consumer protection.

RegTech: Building a Better Financial System

Abstract Regulatory technology or ‘RegTech’ is the use of technology, particularly information technology, in the context of regulatory monitoring, reporting and compliance. RegTech to date has focused on the digitization of manual reporting and compliance processes, for example in the context of know-your-customer requirements. This offers tremendous cost savings to the financial services industry and regulators. However, the potential of RegTech is far greater – it could enable close to real-time monitoring and a proportionate regulatory regime that addresses risk and facilitates more efficient regulatory compliance. We argue that the transformative nature of technology will only be captured by a new approach that sits at the nexus between data, digital identity, and regulation. We seek to expose the inadequacy and lack of ambition of simply digitizing analogue processes in a digital financial world. The development of financial technology (‘FinTech’), rapid developments in emerging markets, and the recent pro-active stance of regulators in developing regulatory sandboxes, represent a unique combination of events, which could facilitate the transition from one regulatory model to another.

FinTech in China: From Shadow Banking to P2P Lending

In 1978 China Financial sector has began a gradual reform process. Within 40 years the country went from a mono-bank model to one composed of hundreds of wholly-owned State banks and joint stock commercial banks. Yet this diversification has the banking landscape has not resolves credit allocation inefficiency. Indeed, whilst SME represent 80 % of the economic output of the country, it is only receiving 20 % of the credit originated by banks. This has spurred the development of shadow banking, an informal and unregulated network of lenders and borrowers. The emergence of Financial Technology has allowed for this activity digitized itself in the form of Peer-to-peer lending channel. The combination of and unregulated market and large credit gap has lead to the emergence of a sector that had only one platform in 2007 and over 2000 in 2015. Therefore the author submit that the emergence of the P2P sector in China is neither new, nor unexpected. Ultimately, this systemic shift caused by the P2P sector offers China a regulatory and market reform opportunity as the shadow has been brought to the light.