The Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee[1] (JROC), a cross-authority taskforce responsible for, among other things, thinking about the future vision and governance of open banking, has announced the set-up of a strategic working group (SWG).
The committee believes there is potential to build on the progress of open banking, to drive further benefits for consumers and businesses, and maintain the UK’s position as a leader in innovation. As we do this, we are keen to work closely with the industry and other key stakeholders. The SWG will help facilitate this.
The SWG is a non-decision-making consultative forum for the committee to engage with industry and other stakeholders. It will provide the principal mechanism for stakeholders to input into the vision and strategic roadmap for further developing open banking, as well as to respond to queries the committee may have. The SWG will be made up of industry representatives, subject matter experts and other stakeholders, such as consumers and businesses. The SWG will be independently chaired. It will operate from August 2022 until December 2022.
Following a recruitment process led by the FCA and the PSR, as co-chairs of the committee, we have appointed Bryan Zhang as the independent chair of the SWG. Bryan’s responsibilities include selecting and appointing the SWG members, arranging and facilitating SWG meetings, collating stakeholders’ views in response to the committee’s questions and providing regular updates to the committee. He will report, and be directly accountable, to the co-chairs of the committee. Bryan is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School.
In addition, the FCA and the PSR, as co-chairs of the committee, have asked the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) to provide administrative support in onboarding Bryan and ongoing secretariat support to assist Bryan in setting up the SWG. Our communications with the OBIE provide more detail.
Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee letter to Open Banking Implementation Entity, 24 June[2]
Open Banking Implementation Entity letter to Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee, 5 July[3]
Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee letter to Open Banking Implementation Entity, 1 Aug[4]
Open Banking Implementation Entity letter to Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee, 1 Aug [5]
Sheldon Mills, Executive Director, Consumers and Competition, of the FCA, and Chris Hemsley, Managing Director of the PSR, the co-chairs of the committee, said: 'We are excited to appoint Bryan to lead the SWG and look forward to working with him and key stakeholders to help define the vision and strategic roadmap for further developing open banking.'