2017-10-13
Vasiliauskas: New financial technologies – additional boost to economic growth and new risks
At the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, D.C., Vitas Vasiliauskas, Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, delivered his annual speech on behalf of the eight Nordic and Baltic countries. He emphasised that the IMF should play an active part in assessing potential risks that the FinTech industry might entail and help improve supervisory mechanisms.
‘Nordic and Baltic countries are among global FinTech leaders. In Lithuania, we pursue an even more ambitious goal – we aim at creating the most favourable environment for FinTech businesses in the region,’ said the Governor of the central bank of Lithuania. He noted that even though new financial technologies boost economic potential and might undoubtedly contribute to its growth, we must also take into consideration the related changes in the regulatory system and market structures.
According to Vitas Vasiliauskas, at this stage the IMF could, and should, play an important role in assessing risks that the evolution of the FinTech industry might entail as well as in offering recommendations on their management.
Looking at the longer-term global economic trends and challenges, in his speech Vasiliauskas drew attention to structural changes that are reinforced by technological advancements, primarily changes in the labour market. He encouraged decision makers across the globe to commit to ambitious reforms in order to strengthen global economic resilience, at the same time ensuring sustainable growth in the medium and long term. He believes that the role of the IMF is especially important when formulating macroprudential policy, thus this organisation should continue assessing the effectiveness of macroprudential measures.
Speech by Vitas Vasiliauskas is available here.
Lithuania is part of the Nordic-Baltic Constituency, composed of eight countries – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden – coordinating activities of the IMF. Today, the membership of the IMF includes 189 countries.
The Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania is Member of the Board of Governors of the IMF. During his visit in Washington, he takes part in the meetings of the IMF International Monetary and Financial Committee as well as the plenary session of the IMF and World Bank’s Board of Governors. He will also meet with Tobias Adrian, Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the IMF, IMF mission chiefs for the euro area, and Anna Ilyina, Mission Chief for Poland.