France financial regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) has announced that it is creating a new FinTech, Innovation and Competitiveness (FIC) division to respond to changes in consumption patterns which have been amplified by technological innovation and the globalization of financial services.
The AMF’s FIC division will be charged with analyzing innovations taking place in the investment services industry and identify competitiveness and regulation challenges.
The new division will be operational as of June 1, and will be headed by Franck Guiader (pictured at top).
This new division’s mission will be to analyze the opportunities and new forms of risk to which the regulator and possibly investors will have to respond. It will be involved in the European discussions and will be tasked with assessing the need to adjust French regulations, or AMF policy, while maintaining a high level of investor protection. The FIC division will therefore be involved in financial center matters connected with international competitiveness. It will coordinate a ‘FinTech task force’ made up of experts from different AMF directorates to address topics related to technological innovation.
The FIC division will also take the lead for the AMF in the joint initiative announced with the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) to coordinate the actions of the two authorities with respect to the acceptance and regulation of innovative projects.
As noted above, Franck Guiader will head the FinTech, Innovation and Competitiveness division. Franck began his career in 2001 at Lazard Bank where he participated in restructuring and government advisory mandates. He then joined BNP Paribas, where he developed investment and management mandate products for a portfolio of institutional clients, before moving to the Euronext group. In December 2011, Franck joined the Asset Management Regulation division of the Regulatory Policy and International Affairs Directorate. He was named head of this division in February 2015. Frank holds a Magistère degree in Banking and Finance and a master’s degree in Financial Techniques from Université Panthéon Assas. He is also a graduate of Neoma Business School and lectures on European regulation at the Institut de Haute Finance and at Université Panthéon Sorbonne.
For more on the AMF’s new FIC initiative click here.