The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has unveiled a public consultation on repositioning Thailand’s financial sector to succeed in a sustainable digital economy.
According to BOT, the consultation will lay out its principles and policy directions in the financial landscape. The repositioning of the financial sector, it claims, needs to strike the right balance between promoting innovation and managing risks as well as allowing for flexibility in dealing with sudden changes.
The organisation underlined that it expects the financial sector to leverage on technological advancement to drive innovation and provide inclusive financial services and consumer protection in a level-playing field. This includes opening up competition to allow for the setting up of virtual banks and the extension of business scope and increased flexibility for existing players.
The BOT also stated that it expects its financial sector to be ‘resilient to significant and emerging risks’ without transmitting them to the system or consumers at large, while also proposing a more flexible regulatory framework that bares minimum regulatory burdens to financial service providers.
The Thai bank also wants financial organisations to incorporate environment risk assessments into their business operations and to support the transition of businesses away from environmentally unsustainable activities without disrupting the economy. The BOT said it aims to achieve a balance in promoting innovation while safeguarding the financial and economic stability.
The BOT said it hopes the directions and policies outlined above will enable the financial sector to utilise technology and innovation to bolster financial services, properly manage new risks and cope with environmental risks and impact efficiently.
The consultation will remain open for comments and suggestions until 28 February 2022.
Copyright © 2022 FinTech Global
