Politicians need to move fast as Facebook & Co move into finance: BIS

June, 24, 2019

(Reuters)-Politicians need to quickly coordinate regulatory responses to new risks from technology companies like Facebook moving into finance, though banks won’t be squeezed out anytime soon, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said on Sunday.

The social media group’s announcement last week that it wants to expand into payments and launch its own coin Libra has focused minds of regulators and central bankers, the BIS said.

Such a move by Big Tech mixes extensive data on individuals with activities that could potentially undermine financial stability, the BIS said.

It touches on competition, data privacy, markets and banking, all areas that have their own regulators that would need coordinating, Hyun Song Shin, economic adviser and head of research at the BIS, told reporters.

“To make that coordination possible, I think there would need to be more of a concerted effort on the part of our political leaders to take that forward,” Shin said.

The Group of Seven economies is looking at Facebook’s plans, but no single global authority has taken the lead role so far.

Shin suggested it could be up to the Group of 20 economies (G20), a body that last year failed to muster consensus that went beyond gathering more information on cryptoassets.

“The role of Big Tech in finance introduces very many new and very unfamiliar elements which pushes us to take a fresh look at some of the activities that international policymakers engage in,” Shin said.

“This is something that needs attention sooner rather than later.”