The Financial Conduct Authority has announced its partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore in order to drive growth and AI development.
Following this announcement, the collaboration is expected to support secure and responsible AI development, as it will enable businesses and firms in the UK and Singapore to scale and operate across markets more effectively.
In addition, the FCA will also establish a presence in Singapore with the appointment of an FCA Financial Services Attaché, which will be based at the British High Commission. This initiative is expected to form part of a wider plan to establish a presence in other priority markets next year.
The objectives of the FCA x MAS partnership and the AI focus
According to the official press release, through the partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the FCA will focus on providing firms in both the UK and Singapore with the possibility to grow through collaboration, gauge new cross-border opportunities, as well as further develop the responsible AI development in finance. At the same time, the appointment to Singapore will optimise the way FCA expands its network of financial services attachés around the world, strengthen its regulatory relationship with MAS, and promote the UK as a trusted global hub for financial services.
Furthermore, a key element of the partnership is expected to be the process of joint testing AI solutions, as well as the exchange of regulatory insights, and collaborative events to spotlight secure and efficient approaches. These steps are set to reinforce the FCA’s commitment to supporting economic growth, while strengthening ties will optimise and accelerate the initiative of building global regulatory relationships and attract inward investment to the UK.
This builds on FCA's overall approach to AI, which focuses on promoting the safe and responsible use of it in financial markets, as well as the use of AI in a way that drives beneficial and secure development. According to an official update made by the institution, the FCA also sees beneficial innovation as an important component of effective competition, and it actively supports it through the use of its Regulatory Sandbox, Digital Sandbox, TechSprints, and other development advisory services.
