As part of ongoing efforts to foster innovation in the financial sector, a collection of Canadian securities regulators have signed a deal with the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that aims to facilitate cooperation between their “regulatory sandbox” initiatives.
The regulators for several provinces — including Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Québec and Saskatchewan — announced an agreement on Friday with the FCA that aims to extend the work of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) sandbox and the FCA Innovate project.
“These innovation functions provide a controlled environment for businesses to develop and test innovative solutions that promote efficiency and consumer choices in the financial sector,” the regulators said in a statement.
Back in 2017, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) signed its own deal with the FCA to enable cooperation between its fintech unit, OSC LaunchPad, and the FCA’s initiative.
Last year, the same group of regulators also signed a similar agreement with France’s Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). Various Canadian regulators also have deals with the Abu Dhabi Global Market Financial Services Regulatory Authority and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
“Since fintech businesses are not constrained by national borders, it is in our best interest to share views and exchange information in connection with their activities so we can evaluate market trends and adapt our regulatory framework appropriately,” Louis Morisset, chair of the CSA and president and CEO of Québec’s AMF, said in a statement.