2017 FinCoNet Annual General Meeting & International Seminar

The FinCoNet Annual General Meeting was hosted by the Financial Services Agency, the Government of Japan, (JFSA) in Tokyo, Japan on 14-15 November 2017, and was directly followed by the FinCoNet/JFSA International Seminar on Financial Consuler Protection, held on 16 November 2017 (half day).

The following, open sessions, which commenced at 10:45am on day one, were opened by a high-level representative of the JFSA. Participants then had the opportunity to engage in a roundtable blue sky session focused on forward looking supervisory risks, trends and priorities.

Day two, 15 November 2017, started with an update from the FinCoNet Secretariat on the joint work that FinCoNet is undertaking with other International Organisations and groups. The rest of the day was dedicated to the work of the FinCoNet Standing Committees and two workshops. Workshop I focussed on Financial Advertising, while Workshop II discussed Product Oversight and Governance.

The Seminar held during the morning session of day three, 16 November 2017, and co-hosted by FinCoNet and the JFSA addressed the topic of Virtual Currencies, including trends of Virtual Currencies exchanges/transactions and measures to supervise operations/businesses related to Virtual Currencies.

The first session of the Seminar discussed the increasing impact and importance of virtual currencies, as well as the risks and challenges of Virtual Currencies on financial consumer protection at national and international level. The second session of the Seminar explored what can/should be done by supervisors relating at national and international levels. The importance of collaboration among supervisors was one of issues for discussion.