But this 1/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  time, technology and its use has permeated into our lives through the ubiquity of smart devices. This coupled with advances in “AIDA”, or Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, mean that new technology can transform or create new business models in ways unseen previously. The rise of social networks and the digital ecosystems, enabled by BigTech and FinTech players, have spurred new business collaborations including with conventional financial institutions that cut across economic sectors. Advancements in distributed ledger technology (blockchain) have also opened up new possibilities to disrupt existing market infrastructure. 8 Already, FinTech developments have revolutionised the way financial services can be delivered. Some examples in capital markets include: (a) In fund and wealth management, the rise of robo-advisory services and AI-driven investment management; (b) In equity research, the use of AI to generate analyst reports; and (c) In primary and secondary markets, blockchain-based platforms that can substitute for central trusted parties by providing an alternate reliable protocol for fund-raising, trade execution, settlement and custody. Regulatory Stance to Innovation 9  Let me broadly share MAS’ stance towards innovation in financial services. 10 Financial institutions have always been at the forefront of innovative use of technology. To the extent that new developments in technology and business models bring benefits to the broader economy, allow improvements in business management, and give customers better choices or services, these are to be encouraged and even supported.
This is to ensure that these providers adopt the necessary measures and controls to manage money laundering and terrorism financing risks. Finally, there are digital tokens that represent ownership interest akin to securities, debentures or collective investment scheme products. These will be subject to existing laws under our Securities and Futures Act (SFA) including investor protection safeguards, as for conventional securities. 16 Technology is not only an enabler for the private sector. Many financial regulators also actively use technology tools and solutions to augment or improve surveillance, supervision and enforcement actions. More than a year ago, the MAS set up a dedicated SupTech Office to serve as an expertise hub to support our line supervisors across banking, insurance and capital markets. There are several ongoing projects to support business process automation and the adoption of enhanced supervisory tools and applications. We are also exploring the use of Data APIs to streamline the submission of regulatory data, and “live dashboards” for better visualisation of trends and analyses. Our supervisors will also be incorporating the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to support big data and network analytics in our surveillance and enforcement work. Collectively, these and other SupTech capabilities will complement the industry’s drive towards RegTech for better risk management and regulatory compliance. 17 As financial services increasingly become digital, management of technology-related risks especially cybersecurity is paramount. MAS recently issued a consultation paper on a set of mandatory Cyber Hygiene requirements.