The US and the UK have formed a Financial Innovation Partnership (FIP) in a bid to promote growth and innovation in the financial sector.
Image: The UK and the US authorities have established Financial Innovation Partnership. Photo: courtesy of Crown copyright.
The collaboration between the US Department of the Treasury and the UK’s HM Treasury will be based on bilateral engagement on emerging trends in financial services innovation.
The US and the UK authorities will establish collaboration with the private sector, share information and expertise about regulatory practices, as well as promote growth and innovation.
The US Department of the Treasury Acting Under Secretary Heath Tarbert said: “Technology is the future of financial services, and innovation drives growth. By jointly fostering entrepreneurial breakthroughs, we will write a new chapter in the longstanding friendship between America and Britain.”
The FIP will focus on two main areas – regulatory engagement and commercial engagement.
Under regulatory engagement, the authorities will hold dialogue with the private sector to identify and address potential regulatory synergies, share lessons, and develop closer working relationships.
The US and the UK will build on existing regulatory cooperation by reviewing regulatory developments and sharing experiences on technical issues linked to innovation in financial services.
Under commercial engagement, the FIP also plans to promote a dynamic private sector, which supports entrepreneurs and new business models.
It will offer enhanced and regular opportunities for the private sector in one country to engage with industry associations and market participants in the other country.
Via the FIP, the UK Department of International Trade (DIT) will bring UK firms to the US, and the US Commerce Department will coordinate trade promotion missions to the UK.
The partnership was announced at the US-UK Financial Regulatory Working Group, which was formed to facilitate closer collaboration on financial services issues between the US and the UK Treasuries, and US and UK financial regulators.
HM Treasury Economic Secretary John Glen said: “The United Kingdom and United States lead the world in financial services, and are at the cutting edge of innovative FinTech. By working more closely together through this new partnership we can help firms in both our countries to go even further to harness new technologies, share expertise and serve consumers.”