INDIA NEW DELHI: India and the UK held the second meeting of the India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue in London on April 19. This was the first in-person financial dialogue since 2017.
It was led by senior officials from the Ministry of Finance and HM Treasury, with participation from Indian and UK independent regulatory agencies.
Focus on six themes: According to an official release, the delegates shared views on issues in their respective areas of responsibility and possibilities of collaboration in evolving fields of financial regulation. The Dialogue focused on six themes: banking, payments and crypto-assets, insurance and reinsurance, capital markets, asset management, and sustainable finance.
UK and Indian participants provided updates on recent developments in their respective banking sectors, discussing banking trends and emerging vulnerabilities and risks in the sector.
The participants also discussed international developments regarding crypto-assets, and the importance of robust global approaches, and progress in delivering the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments.
UK solvency reforms: Matters relating to the insurance sector, including UK updates on Solvency II reforms and a consultation on the introduction of an Insurer Regulation Regime (IRR) also came up for discussion.
The meeting identified emerging areas for collaboration including knowledge exchange on regulatory frameworks for pension funds (PFs) in respective countries, potential investment opportunities by PFs and the development of ecosystems including technology-based solutions for Social Stock Exchange.
The two sides also explored the scope to leverage asset management industries in favour of deeper crossborder trade and investment. New Chairs named: Following the Government-to-Government discussion, business leaders from the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP) were invited to the discussion. The two sides welcomed the appointment of Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, as the new UK Chair of the IUKFP alongside Uday Kotak, MD & CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank, as India Chair.
