Securities regulators in eight Canadian provinces formed an agreement with the French Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) based in Paris, France to increase global opportunities for blockchain and fintech firms in both countries. The agreement announced on February 8th, 2018 is an extension to the work of the CSA Regulatory Sandbox Initiative combined with the AMF FinTech, Innovation and Competitiveness division. It will allow the participating provinces and jurisdictions, and the French AMF, to refer FinTech businesses seeking to enter the others’ markets.The CSA Sandbox and the AMF division share a common goal of providing a “sound environment for businesses to develop innovative solutions in the financial sector.” The agreement will aid these businesses with compliance to current and emerging regulatory systems and issues in both countries.The CSA Regulatory Sandbox Initiative was launched as part of the CSA’s 2016-2019 Business Plan to assist fintech firms, including blockchain and digital currency startups and ICO’s, to ensure their compliance to securities legislation. It allows firms to register and/or obtain exemptive relief from securities laws requirements faster than a standard application and supports businesses seeking to offer innovative products, services and applications in Canada.“Collaboration through this agreement will take many forms, including information sharing, support to financial innovators, referrals, expertise sharing, secondments, and dialogue on fintech and innovative financial services,” said Louis Morisset, CSA Chair and President and CEO of Québec’s Autorité des marchés financiers. “This framework marks another step for making Canada a financial hub for these types of businesses to operate in.”
“This newly established communication channel between France and Canada is an important step for innovative players willing to develop their activities beyond our borders, given Canada is a key jurisdiction for fintech firms,” said Robert Ophèle, Chairman of the French Autorité des marchés financiers. “This bridge between our two countries falls within the French AMF’s active international development actions and aims at reinforcing Paris as a financial innovation hub. Co-operation between the French AMF and its Canadian counterparts will create synergies between our authorities and should enable fintech firms to extend their global reach and actively learn from each other.”Similar agreements were announced between the same provincial regulators under the CSA and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on December 12th, 2017, and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) on November 2nd, 2017. These agreements allow participants to exchange information on fintech trends and development and refer businesses to each others’ markets. They mark a further acceleration in the activities of the CSA that will specifically benefit blockchain and digital currency enterprises.Image credit: picserver.org
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