Six virtual banks have become corporate members of the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers (HKIB), a non-profit organization that offers coaching and certification to banks in Hong Kong.
Earlier, Airstar Bank Limited, Livi VB Limited, Fusion Bank Limited, SC Digital Solutions Limited, Ping An OneConnect Bank (Hong Kong) Limited and WeLab Bank Limited are the financial institutions which became a member of the HKIB.
Carrie Leung, HKIB’s CEO, stated that the enrollment of virtual banks marks a new phase in the progress of banking sector in the region. Leung further said:
“The HKIB now boasts a member base with 103 Corporate Members and Corporate Affiliates, and over 6,000 Individual Members. With the exponential growth in the local Fintech sector, we believe that more virtual banks and Fintech companies will see the importance of joining our community in the years ahead.”
HKIB primarily aims to foster development of financial technology in Hong Kong by offering training in cybersecurity, digital banking and other related areas.
The HKIB intends to continue fostering talent sharing and launch crypto sector projects to stimulate professionals to take part in fintech training programs, among other objectives.
Last November, the HKMA (Hong Kong Monetary Authority) inked a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with an affiliate of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC).
The agreement intends to establish a PoC (Proof-of-Concept) for a trade funding platform from Q1 2020, merging two prevailing ventures namely the HKMA’s eTradeconnect and the PBoC’s Trade Finance Platform.
Also in November, HKMA disclosed that it was exploring likely applications for a central bank digital currency.
The venture is being carried out together with Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Ltd. and three more banks, and also blockchain consortium R3.
HKMA supposedly intends to publish an important report on its research results in the first quarter of 2020.
