By Staff Writer
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has appointed Ryozo Himino, vice minister for international affairs at the Japan Financial Services Agency responsible for crypto regulations, to a top post at the global watchdog.
He will chair the FSB’s Standing Committee on Supervisory and Regulatory Cooperation, for a two-year term starting on 1 September 2019, succeeding Norman Chan, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city-state’s de facto central bank, according to a statement.
The latest appointment at the Basel-based watchdog, which is housed at the Bank for International Settlements, can be interpreted as a recognition of the importance of the crypto and digital assets space as the new industry grows in size, with increasing implications on financial stability.
Tokyo has been at the forefront of introducing crypto regulations and has been a vocal advocate of harmonized global regulations governing digital assets.
The standing committee’s mandate includes addressing key financial stability issues relating to the development of supervisory and regulatory policies; assisting in managing the coordination issues that arise among supervisors and regulators on issues that have cross-sector implications; setting guidelines for and overseeing the establishment and effective functioning of supervisory colleges; and advising on and monitoring best practice in meeting regulatory standards.
Randal K. Quarles, FSB’s chair, welcomed Mr Himino’s appointment, noting his long and distinguished career in public service and his deep experience in international supervisory and regulatory policy matters, according to the statement.
Ryozo Himino has been the vice minister for international affairs of the Japanese FSA since 2016. At the agency, he has supervised banks, insurance companies, broker-dealers and audit firms and regulated capital markets during the last two decades. He also served as the secretary-general of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision from 2003 to 2006.
The FSB coordinates at the international level the work of national financial authorities and international standard-setting bodies and develops and promotes the implementation of effective regulatory, supervisory, and other financial sector policies in the interest of financial stability.
It brings together national authorities responsible for financial stability in 24 countries and jurisdictions, international financial institutions, sector-specific international groupings of regulators and supervisors, and committees of central bank experts. The FSB also conducts outreach with approximately 70 other jurisdictions through its six Regional Consultative Groups.
