The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Bank of Canada launched the Toronto Innovation Centre, the first such centre to be established in the Americas and the seventh to be opened by the BIS in collaboration with partner central banks around the world.
The centre will explore the development of new technologies to “make the financial system more efficient and inclusive, both in Canada and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.”
The opening of the Toronto Innovation Centre is a key moment for the BIS.
It represents an important milestone in their efforts “to build the financial system of the future through innovation and experimentation, enabling us to fully bring this mission to the Americas together with our many partners in the region.”
They are looking forward to collaborate “with the Bank of Canada and other central banks to foster a more modern, efficient and inclusive financial system.”
Senior officials from central banks, regulatory agencies, financial institutions and fintechs attended the launch ceremony in Toronto.
Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada said:
“Fostering innovation has never been more crucial; that’s as true for central bankers as it is for business leaders. As the financial sector continues to evolve, we need to innovate in different areas and apply skills that aren’t traditionally associated with central banking. By doing so, Canadians can share in the benefits of innovation. That’s why this hub and our partnership with the BIS are so important.”
The Toronto Innovation Centre will be “headed by Miguel Diaz and will initially focus on projects to explore next-generation financial market infrastructures, innovation for regulatory, supervisory and oversight purposes (suptech) and open finance.”
These are three of the BIS’s six priority themes “for its Innovation Hub. Others are cyber security, green finance and central bank digital currencies, and are the focus of other Hub centres.”
The BIS Innovation Hub was established in 2019 “by the BIS to identify and develop in-depth insights into critical trends in financial technology of relevance to central banks, to explore the development of public goods to enhance the functioning of the global financial system, and to serve as a focal point for a network of central bank experts on innovation.”
Other BIS Innovation Hub Centres includes “the Switzerland Centre (with the Swiss National Bank), the Eurosystem Centre (with all Eurosystem central banks), the London Centre, the Nordic Centre (with the central banks of Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), the Hong Kong Centre (with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority) and the Singapore Centre (with the Monetary Authority of Singapore).”
