Montreal and Hong Kong – Members of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have signed an innovative functions co-operation agreement with the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC). The members are the securities regulatory authorities in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Québec and Saskatchewan.

The agreement extends the work of the CSA Regulatory Sandbox Initiative and of the SFC Fintech Contact Point. Notably, it includes a referral mechanism for innovative businesses, and enhances and clearly defines the scope of information-sharing between these jurisdictions.

“We are pleased to strengthen our relationship with the SFC, which plays a central role in the development of the fintech industry,” said Louis Morisset, CSA Chair and President and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers. “Thanks to this collaboration, registered innovative firms based in our respective jurisdictions will have the opportunity to operate in growing regulated markets.”

“This agreement reflects the SFC’s continuing focus on strengthening regulatory cooperation with its counterparts and facilitating innovation in financial services,” said Ashley Alder, CEO of the SFC. “We look forward to working closely with the members of the CSA in sharing experiences and information with a view to supporting innovative firms’ communications with regulators globally.”

For certain CSA members, the agreement will come into effect once all governmental approvals have been obtained.

About the Canadian Securities Administrators

The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.

Among other initiatives, it has put in place the CSA Regulatory Sandbox to support fintech businesses seeking to offer innovative products, services and applications in Canada. The sandbox allows firms to register and/or obtain exemptive relief from securities laws requirements, under a faster and more flexible process than through a standard application, in order to test their products, services and applications throughout the Canadian market on a time limited basis.

About the Securities and Futures Commission

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is an independent statutory body set up in 1989 to regulate Hong Kong’s securities and futures markets.

The SFC established the Fintech Contact Point in 2016 as a dedicated channel to encourage businesses involved in the development and application of financial technology in Hong Kong to engage with the SFC. 

The SFC is one of the first major jurisdictions to introduce a comprehensive framework for the regulation of virtual asset trading platforms and its approach is consistent with the recommendations of international standard-setting bodies.

For Investor inquiries, please refer to your respective securities regulator. You can contact them here.