2022 Asia Pacific Financial Services Regulatory Outlook

As we head into 2022, the defining features of the global macroeconomic environment are marked regional differences in economic performance combined with significant fragility in the outlook.

The context of considerable change and uncertainty creates further pressures on regulatory fragmentation at a time when issues of global significance – namely economic inequality, climate change and the exponential growth in digital and technological capabilities – require more coordination and collaboration than ever. These pressures pose significant challenges for regulators, the regulated community, and, ever increasingly, the broader non-regulated ecosystems around the financial services industry.

The Asia Pacific (AP) region continues to navigate its way to economic recovery despite these uncertainties. Although the region’s growth is leading the rest of the world, overall recovery in AP has been uneven as a result of new COVID-19 variants. The evolving regulatory agenda in AP will continue to be complex and challenging, with authorities having to balance safeguarding stability with supporting the recovery while also keeping an eye out for social and economic inclusion, sustainability and digital transformation. As we emerge from the pandemic, there will still be much work to be done.

It is with this context in mind that this year’s 2022 Asia Pacific Financial Services Regulatory Outlook takes a closer look at the following issues:

• Market resilience
• Firm-level resilience
• Digital innovation
• Conduct and culture
• Sustainable growth
• Future of FSI regulation

These are and will continue to be high priority issues for both regulators and FS firms in AP alike; it will be critical for firms to think through what these issues mean for their business models, and what strategic decisions they will have to make as a result.