Digital Finance

Overview

AFME is a strong supporter of the Digital Finance agenda and supports the establishment of a Europe-wide digital regulatory framework that encourages innovation, increases technical capability, and improves the strategic competitiveness of the region.

We believe that the European regulatory framework for innovative activities needs to be globally consistent, and based on global standards, to sufficiently mitigate risks and support the competitiveness of the EU. Furthermore, the framework must remain technology neutral, principles-based and proportionate in order to support technology adoption.

Finally, AFME supports the establishment of a competitive and level playing field to ensure all firms involved in capital markets adhere to the principle of ‘same activity, same risk, same regulation’. A level playing field for all capital markets participants is essential to manage risk, whilst supporting competition and innovation.

Key areas of focus:

• Cybersecurity and operational resilience: removing fragmentation in regulatory requirements, ensuring a principles and risk-based approach, establishing global consistency and a common lexicon;
• New technologies and innovation: removing obstacles to digitisation in existing regulation, removing fragmentation in the regulatory treatment of crypto-assets, creating a clear and risk-based framework for AI;
• Data-sharing: implementing a cross-sectoral approach for data-sharing, coordinating greater standardisation of data types and format, ensuring the secure transmission of data.