Late last week, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced a cooperation agreement on FinTech innovation.  The agreement is principally focused on information sharing on FinTech trends and developments and on each regulator’s FinTech sandboxes.

The agreement could also, however, help FinTech companies move more easily between the U.S. and Singaporean markets.  In particular, the agreement establishes a referral mechanism where each regulator can refer to the other regulator innovators that seek to operate in, or have questions about, the other regulator’s jurisdiction.  The referral process is non-binding and does not obligate either regulator to accept the licenses or authorizations of the other regulator.  Nevertheless it may, in practice, help facilitate easier entry of U.S. innovators into Singapore markets, and vice-versa.

CFTC’s agreement with MAS is its second FinTech cooperation agreement with a non-US authority (the first being its agreement with the FCA), and it reflects both agencies’ ongoing efforts to engage their foreign counterparts in productive dialogue.

Tags: CFTC, Fintech
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Photo of Nikhil Gore Nikhil Gore

A member of the international arbitration and financial institutions practices, Nikhil V. Gore represents sovereign states and U.S. and global firms in international treaty-based and commercial disputes. He also regularly represents U.S. financial institutions, and the U.S. branches and affiliates of foreign financial…

A member of the international arbitration and financial institutions practices, Nikhil V. Gore represents sovereign states and U.S. and global firms in international treaty-based and commercial disputes. He also regularly represents U.S. financial institutions, and the U.S. branches and affiliates of foreign financial institutions, in investigations and inquiries involving the Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, CFPB, and state banking regulators.

Mr. Gore has served as counsel in investment and commercial arbitrations spanning several industries and a variety of regions, including Asia, Eastern Europe, North America, and Southern Africa. Additionally, he has expertise in the law of the sea, and was part of the Covington team that secured an order from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which required Russia to release three Ukrainian naval vessels and twenty-four servicemen detained in the Black Sea in 2018.

In his financial institutions practice, Mr. Gore has experience with enforcement actions and investigations relating to the Bank Secrecy Act, the federal criminal money laundering statutes, the full range of safety and soundness issues (including, in particular, supervisory reviews of bank control functions), and fair lending and consumer compliance. Mr. Gore is a regular contributor to the firm’s financial services blog.

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