Regulators in Singapore and Switzerland have agreed to create a framework for ensuring financial sector data can flow across borders seamlessly.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Swiss State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) agreed Tuesday to work together, and with other countries, to create a regulatory framework conducive to allowing cross-border transmission, storage, access and protection of data flows in the financial sector.
SIF and MAS said they would explore policies to enable data flows, including personal information, within financial groups; support free choice of location for data storage and processing as long as regulators and supervisors have appropriate access; and protect confidentiality and privacy.
Increasing Protectionism
The step is likely in response to increasing protectionism around data flows, particularly requirements for data to be stored locally. Those moves have related to a variety of concerns, including privacy, cybersecurity, censorship of online media and law enforcement.
The MAS and SIF said they wanted to uphold confidentiality of customers’ data, while also promoting efficient global financial markets.
«The expanding use of data and information technology for the provision of financial services offers a range of benefits, including greater consumer choice, enhanced risk management capabilities, and increased efficiency,» MAS and SIF said in a joint statement.
«Conversely, data localisation requirements may increase cybersecurity risks and other operational risks, hinder risk management and compliance, and inhibit financial regulatory and supervisory access to data,» the statement said.
