Facilitating also means helping players in the ecosystem to engage with each other and find solutions without necessarily resorting to regulatory measures. It is in this spirit that we run the ACPR-AMF FinTech Forumand that we have created working groups or task forces in order to make concrete progress on important issues for the ecosystem, such as the access of digital asset service providers to the bank accounts and banking services they need. Admittedly, dialogue does not solve everything, but we very often find that many difficulties can be ironed out through improved dialogue and a better understanding of the practices and technologies used by the various stakeholders. Second objective: experiment. Here I would like to give two different illustrations of this approach. The exploratory workshops conducted by ACPR on the use of artificial intelligence in the financial sector are an example of what experimentation can bring not only to a supervisory authority but also to the entire ecosystem. Indeed, these concrete experiments have enabled the ACPR, based on specific use cases, to examine the code of the algorithms, their intrinsic performance, their integration into operational processes, and their control and governance environment. Drawing on this experiment, in order to share widely the lessons it has learned, the ACPR published astudy last June outlining what the framework for the proper use of these future tools could look like.
Problems at the British Steel plant in the town have put at risk the jobs of 5,000 workers and a further 20,000 in its supply chain.1 Hopefully, a new buyer can be found and jobs in the town and beyond can be assured. This is the latest chapter in what has been a long and sometimes painful story for the UK steel industry recently. It has been a recurrent theme of my visits around the UK, including in Redcar and Port Talbot. The loss of signature industries can leave lasting social and economic scars – jobs lost, families disrupted, communities decimated. It is a pattern we see repeated across many industries in many advanced economies. It has been a key cause of the disaffection and disconnection felt by many and a potent polarising force in our politics, policies and societies. This polarisation is also a potent force shaping the fortunes of our economies, as I will go on to discuss. The travails of the steel industry lead me neatly to the issue I want to discuss today – jobs and pay. In the UK recently, this has been a good news/bad news story. The good news has been the new jobs created – the best jobs recovery in the UK since at least the Second World War. The bad news has been the subdued performance of pay over much of that period – the weakest pay performance the UK has experienced since at least the Boer War.