Oversight of Financial Market Infrastructures

Financial market infrastructures (FMIs) that facilitate the clearing, settling or recording of payments, securities, derivatives or other financial transactions constitute an essential foundation for the smooth functioning of an advanced economy, and play a critical role in fostering financial stability. It is therefore important for central banks and monetary authorities to oversee key FMIs to promote their safety and efficiency.

According to Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMI) issued jointly by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) in April 2012, FMIs include systemically important payment systems, central securities depositories, securities settlement systems, central counterparties, and trade repositories.

On 28 March 2013, the HKMA issued a policy statement - Oversight of Financial Market Infrastructures by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The document describes the approach adopted by the HKMA in its oversight of FMIs in Hong Kong under its purview, namely the designated clearing and settlement systems and the OTC Derivatives Trade Repository of the HKMA (HKTR). Amendments will be made to the document from time to time to reflect enhancements made by the HKMA in fine-tuning its oversight framework. The latest version of the document can be found here.