Commission invests in Supervisory Technology

As part of its three-year business plan, the Commission is undertaking a series of technology-based projects in collaboration with academics from University College London (UCL) and regulatory and data AI start-up, Regul-AI-tion. In particular, these projects are focused in the areas of SupTech (Supervisory Technology) and RegTech (Regulatory Technology), both of which are sub-sets of the wider area of FinTech (Financial Technology).

In broad terms, both SupTech and RegTech aim to provide technology-based solutions to attenuate or solve regulatory and supervisory challenges, including those posed by the expansion of FinTech in regulated firms.

A number of these projects are utilising the expertise in the Department of Computer Science at UCL under the guidance of Professor Philip Treleaven who is the Director of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Financial Computing and Analytics. For these projects, Commission staff are working alongside UCL staff, researchers and Regul-AI-tion to explore ways in which new technologies can potentially augment the supervisory process and aid regulatory reporting and compliance. Such work will ensure that the Commission maintains a progressive approach to the innovative use of technology, following closely behind a number of other international financial regulators who are investing in and rolling out SupTech and RegTech solutions.

Director General of the Commission, William Mason said: "

We are investing in SupTech which enhances our ability to detect problems earlier in smaller firms we could not otherwise scrutinise as a matter of routine. By doing this with the assistance of Regul-AI-tion and our other partners, we hope to better protect consumers and investors and fight financial crime."