U.S., U.K. launch Financial Innovation Partnership

The Partnership between the Department of the Treasury and the U.K. HM Treasury “will build on and deepen bilateral engagement on emerging trends in financial services innovation.” This will include encouraging collaboration in the private sector, sharing information and expertise about regulatory practices, and promoting growth and innovation.

“Technology is the future of financial services, and innovation drives growth,” said Heath Tarbert, acting under secretary for international affairs at the Treasury Department. “By jointly fostering entrepreneurial breakthroughs, we will write a new chapter in the longstanding friendship between America and Britain.”

“The U.K. and U.S. 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,” added John Glen, economic secretary to HM Treasury.

The Financial Innovation Partnership (FIP) will focus on two main areas:

Regulatory engagement

Dialogue between authorities and with the private sector is critical to identify and address potential regulatory synergies, share lessons, and develop closer working relationships. The United Kingdom will build on existing regulatory cooperation by discussing regulatory developments and sharing experiences on technical issues related to innovation in financial services.

Commercial engagement

The FIP also seeks to promote a dynamic private sector that supports entrepreneurs and new business models. It will provide enhanced and regular opportunities for the private sector in one country to engage with industry associations and market participants in the other country.

Through the FIP, the U.K. Department for International Trade (DIT) will bring U.K. firms to the United States and the U.S. Commerce Department will coordinate trade promotion missions to the United Kingdom.

The Partnership was announced at the U.S.-U.K. Financial Regulatory Working Group, which was established to facilitate even closer collaboration on financial services issues between U.S. and U.K. Treasuries and U.S. and U.K. financial regulators.