金融科技(FinTech)发展与监管:一个监管者的视角

The Development and Supervision of Fintech:From the Perspective of Regulators

近年来,"金融科技"(FinTech)概念在全球范围内迅速兴起,但尚无统一定义。实践中,"金融科技"的具体含义在不同背景下存在差异,与国内的"互联网金融"概念也既有联系,又有区别。总体来看,金融科技可分为支付结算、存贷款与资本筹集、投资管理、市场设施四类。其中,分布式账户(包括区块链)被认为是最具发展潜力的技术,也最有可能对现有金融业务模式产生重大影响。从金融业发展历史看,新技术的应用和普及虽然加速了新型服务模式的诞生,但并未从根本上改变银行业务模式、金融法律关系和监管体制,也未对金融体系稳定产生大的冲击。此次金融科技是否会从根本上改变现有业务模式和监管框架,还有待观察。金融科技具有积极作用,但也存在潜在风险和监管挑战。目前,国际监管组织普遍加强了对金融科技的关注和研究,各国监管机构也密切关注金融科技发展,但仍然按照金融业务属性,根据业务实质适用相应的监管规则,同时加强跟踪研究和风险评估,不断完善监管方式。金融科技是金融业发展进程中的正常现象,既不应"神化",也不应"轻视"。监管者应坚持按照金融业务本质实施监管,维护市场公平竞争,同时加强对新兴技术的关注、监测和研究,做好监管准备。

In recent years,the attention to financial technology,or"Fintech",has increased at a rapid pace globally.There is no commonly agreed Fintech definition yet,and we have seen a broad array of developments under this umbrella term.Fintech can be categorized into four groups:payments,clearing and settlement services;credit,deposit and capital raising services;investment management services;and market provisioning services.It is believed that no aspect of Fintech has greater potential to transform the financial landscape than the distributed ledger technology(including blockchain).Looking back into the history,the financial industry went throug hvarious tech-enabled waves of innovations.Although the application of new technologies has promoted newbanking services,so far it has had limited impact on the current banking system and financial stability.However,the implications of this round of technological innovation on the banking industry are still unclear.The rise ofFintech innovations will bring benefits while posing risks and challenges to the supervisors.In recent yearsboth the international standard setting bodies and national supervisory agencies have paid great attention to thedevelopment of Fintech innovations.This paper argues that the rise of Fintech can be regarded as the continuationof technological innovations in the financial industry.Its implications should neither be overestimated nor underestimated.Supervisory agencies should continue to regulate and supervise financial activities according to their business nature,while improving supervisory framework by keeping up with the development of new technologies.They should also ensure financial activities and products with similar nature and risks are subject to consistent supervisory standards,so as to prevent regulatory arbitrage and promote fair competition.