Facilitating Access to Global Financial Markets While Protecting Privacy

The ability of data to flow across borders is essential to the global economy, including financial stability and access to markets. Frictions in cross-border financial transactions, payments in particular, created by differing privacy frameworks can raise the costs and risks for financial institutions; institutions may withdraw from certain payment corridors or decide not to enter certain markets. If a financial institution loses access to cross-border payment services, its viability may be at risk. If a country’s institutions more generally face restricted access, the friction may affect the functioning of the local financial system. Moreover, restrictions on government access to financial information indicating fraud, money laundering, or terrorist financing can undermine law enforcement, national security, and public safety. The Financial Stability Board, Financial Action Task Force and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development are promoting alignment of differing privacy frameworks to ensure protection of privacy while ensuring access to markets, market stability, and compatibility with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing rules.

What you will learn:

• The impacts on the global and local financial systems caused by different privacy legal frameworks.

• Efforts to promote alignment in different privacy legal frameworks, through the OECD, the FSB, and FATF.

• How to get involved in the forums and expert groups to help promote alignment to protect privacy and financial markets.