Grindrod Shipping : PBC Fintech Committee Convenes a Meeting for 2020 Priorities

Recently, the Fintech Committee of People's Bank of China (PBC) held a meeting in Beijing to review the work in 2019 and arrange priorities in 2020. Mr. Fan Yifei, PBC Deputy Governor and member of the CPC PBC Committee, hosted the meeting and delivered a speech.

It was held at the meeting that throughout 2019, the PBC has earnestly implemented the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, upheld the principles of 'compliant and innovative, secure and controllable, inclusive and life-improving, open and win-win', and opened up new prospects in Fintech with efforts on all fronts and breakthrough in various aspects. The PBC has strengthened top-level design and integrated guidance through releasing the Fintech Development Plan (2019-2021), improved the basic rule system for Fintech regulation, and developed inclusive and prudent tools for regulation of Fintech innovation. It conducted pilot programs for Fintech application with the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology and guided financial institutions to improve quality and efficiency of financial services by scientific and technological means. Besides, the PBC included Fintech products into the nationally unified accreditation system, and strengthened Fintech security and quality management through the implementation of standards. The PBC has been continuously optimizing the ecosystem of mobile payment to further improve payment convenience for people and enterprises. By actively promoting data governance, it has accelerated the building of a 'digital central bank'.

It was stressed at the meeting that, in 2020, development and regulation should be both focused on to achieve steady and sustainable progress of Fintech. First, the PBC will continue to track the implementation of the Fintech Development Plan, and guide financial institutions to pick up pace in reforms of systems and institutions and to promote digitization. The significant roles of production factors such as technology and data should be strengthened to help ease the difficulty in financing and reduce the high cost of financing for micro and small enterprises (MSEs), and to enhance the capability of the financial sector to serve the real economy. Second, financial data governance will be enhanced to promote the secure sharing of enterprise-related information, facilitate the effective integration and legitimate use of data resources, and improve the capability of financial services to benefit the people. Third, Fintech regulation will be reinforced. A series of Fintech regulatory rules on such areas as personal financial information protection and blockchain will be issued and serve as the standard rules in testing and certification, with an aim to build the 'four lines of defense' for the management of Fintech innovation covering industrial supervision, social monitoring, self-regulation via association and institutional autonomy. Fourth, the ability of digital supervision will be enhanced. The multi-layer systematic Fintech risk management structure will be strengthened to improve the identification, analysis, assessment, early-warning and disposal of risks. Fifth, efforts will be made to realize the full filing of all financial Apps, regulate the management of open application interface, and improve the security of online financial service channels. Sixth, better connection will be fostered between finance and science and technology. We will focus on joint research and commercialization of key and generic technologies for the financial industry to improve the capabilities of the financial industry in utilizing advanced information technology, and to generate innovative vitality and scientific power for high-quality financial development.

Representatives from relevant departments and bureaus of the PBC and affiliated enterprises and institutions attended the meeting.