Securities regulators in BC, Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan are urging industry participants to join a consultation in its data portability study and to engage in the testing of technological tools and business strategies.
The focused discussions and planned testing seek to foster greater portability of client data in the investment market, said a news release of the Canadian Securities Administrators.
The project, which consists of a consultation and potential testing, is aiming to address data portability issues including:
- the demand for and benefits of data portability solutions
- the use of data portability in mitigating investor risk
- the process of collecting client information using digital means, known as electronic Know-Your-Client (e-KYC) solutions
- privacy and security concerns related to increasing data portability
- technological standards and innovations in connection with data portability
- regulatory barriers potentially affecting the development of data portability solutions
“The acceleration of technological change is having profound effects on the investment market,” said Stan Magidson, the CSA’s chairman and the Alberta Securities Commission’s chairman and CEO, in the news release. “As regulators, we need to anticipate those changes.”
The CSA shared in its news release that this is the first project under its new program called the CSA Collaboratory, which uses a cohort-based approach to explore the market impact and regulatory implications of new technologies and innovative business models in capital markets.
“The CSA Collaboratory will allow us to engage more intensively with both established market participants and innovative businesses pioneering new tools and business practices, and hopefully assess those innovations under real-world conditions,” Magidson said in the news release.
According to the news release, the British Columbia Securities Commission is championing the data portability project with the Alberta Securities Commission.
“Governments around the world are exploring how to give users greater control over their own data, while also providing safeguards for data privacy,” said Brenda Leong, the BC Securities Commission’s chairwoman and CEO, in the news release.
“The CSA wants to better understand how this trend – and the corresponding technological solutions – mesh with current securities regulations, and what changes might be necessary to facilitate those innovations,” Leong added in the news release.
More about new project
The CSA is urging industry participants and other interested stakeholders to submit their written comments by May 19. Those interested can also make suggestions about future topics or trends to be explored via the CSA Collaboratory on the CSA Collaboratory’s website.
The CSA will consider the feedback, share updates on the CSA Collaboratory’s website, and will work to coordinate its efforts with relevant stakeholders and regulatory agencies such as the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, the CSA’s news release said.
If the consultation and discussions move forward to the testing phase, the CSA’s staff will give direct feedback to the participating companies throughout the testing process and will look into the companies’ technological capabilities, goals, and challenges, the news release added.
The CSA, which is the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, seeks to coordinate and harmonize regulation for the Canadian capital markets.