Capacity Development Talk: Digital Money: Building Capacity for a Virtuous Circle

Location: HQ1-BL-517 (AV CORE)

You can read the write up here and watch the event on YouTube here

The emergence and growth of digital money has impacted financial sector business models and tested the effectiveness of current policies, regulations, and norms, and the pandemic has only accelerated these trends. Policymakers recognize that these new, expanding frontiers in digitalization bring a novel set of risks to the financial system that need addressed. This session explores many of these issues and the capacity development work that the Fund has engaged in with its partners and members to understand, prepare, and adapt to this new reality.

Speakers:

Parma Bains, Financial Sector Expert, IMF Monetary and Capital Markets Department

Parma Bains is a Financial Sector Expert within the Monetary & Capital Markets Department of the International Monetary Fund. Parma specializes in the regulation of fintech, providing global technical assistance on topics including fintech and financial stability, fintech surveillance, crypto assets and blockchains, sandboxes and innovation units, BigTech, RegTech and SupTech. Parma also works on policy development authoring several reports on topics including BigTech and Blockchains. He joined from the UK Financial Conduct Authority where he was part of a small team that launched the world's first dedicated fintech regulatory unit, “Project Innovate”. Parma was a member of the ‘UK Crypto asset Taskforce’ and authored the FCA's 'Guidance on Crypto Assets'. Prior to joining the FCA, Parma worked for Deutsche Bank and has also spent time with the U.S. Department of Justice in New York. He holds a Master's degree in Finance and Financial Regulation from Aston Business School in the UK.

Tao Sun, Senior Economist, IMF Monetary and Capital Markets Department

Mr. Tao Sun received his Ph.D. in economics and started working first in the People’s Bank of China. Since May 2007, Tao Sun started as an economist in the Monetary and Capital Market Department, then worked as a senior economist in the Asia and Pacific Department at the IMF. Tao Sun worked as a senior director at Ant Group during 2015-2019. Recent research focused on digital technology, central bank digital currencies, inclusive finance, and digital economy.

Akihiko Yoshida, Deputy Director General for International Bureau, Ministry of Finance, Japan

Mr. Yoshida is Deputy Director-General for International Bureau, Ministry of Finance, Japan. His main responsibilities include regional financial cooperation (e.g. ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting) and issues related to digital money.

Prior to taking up the current position, Mr. Yoshida worked as Deputy Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, as well as Deputy Commissioner for International Affairs at JFSA (Japan Financial Services Agency). He also experienced various Director-level positions at the Ministry of Finance in the area of international finance, including Director of Foreign Exchange Markets Division and Director of IMF/G7/G20 Division. He also worked for Asia and Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund as Advisor to Director.

Moderator:

Eva-Maria Graf, Communications Officer, IMF Communications Department

Eva-Maria Graf is a Press Officer in the Media Relations Division of the IMF’s Communications Department. Previously, she was a Communications Officer in the IMF’s Europe Office in Paris, France, where she coordinated outreach on euro area and broader European issues. Prior to joining the IMF in 2015, she worked in communications for the European Central Bank. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from the Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland. 