Former Financial Markets Authority (FMA) fintech lead, Binu Paul, has resurfaced as head of a newly formed digital asset division of the UK regulatory counterpart.
Paul, who left the FMA late last month, was selected to head the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) digital assets unit following a global search by the UK regulator as it scales up oversight of the fast-growing fintech sector.
The FCA founded the digital assets department earlier this year, appointing long-time senior manager, Victoria McLoughlin, as interim head this April.
At the time, McLoughlin said the role includes responsibility “for supervising registered, unregistered and new entrant digital asset firms based in the UK, and supporting the development of a new regime to deliver the UK Government’s vision for crypto whilst managing risks that arise”.
It is understood Paul will oversee a staff of about 50 in a big step up from the FMA, where he more or less built the NZ regulator’s co-operative fintech model from scratch. He established the ‘fintech forum’ last year to streamline pan-regulatory advice for start-ups in the sector.
Almost 40 cryptocurrency firms have registered with the FCA under recent rules that require such businesses serving UK customers to list with the regulator for anti-money laundering purposes.
The current UK government (under previous leadership) has vowed to make the country a “global cryptoasset technology hub”, including fintech provisions in the broad-sweeping Financial Services and Markets (FSM) bill into parliament this July.
Among other reforms the FSM law – still to pass through the bicameral UK parliamentary system – would regulate so-called ‘stablecoins’ and similar digital assets as payments.
The UK Treasury said in a release at the time: “In fostering these new innovations, the Bill will also enable the creation of Financial Markets Infrastructure Sandboxes – allowing firms to test the use of new technologies and practices in financial markets, increasing efficiency, transparency and resilience of new products.”
However, the FSM legislation may be sidelined following ongoing turmoil in the UK government including the resignation last Friday of new chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, just 37 days in the job. Kwarteng presided over a disastrous ‘mini budget’ that triggered a UK bond market blow-out, a pension fund crisis and a reluctant intervention by the Bank of England.
Prior to the FMA, Paul was active in the NZ fintech world as the founder of several start-up firms (notably, the online KiwiSaver comparison tool, SavvyKiwi) and launching the first conference for the sector under the Finnotec brand.
He was previously head of business strategy and development for Tyndall Investment Management NZ (now known as Nikko) and led the research house, FundSource, for seven years, leaving soon after its sale to the NZX.