least one regtech solution in their bank. having said that, we do believe that regtech adoption can be and should be much wider than it currently is. and to make that happen, some barriers must be addressed. 24. at this point, i would venture a guess that at least some of you are thinking that, when it comes to barriers to regtech adoption, the hkma must be one of the biggest barriers. it is true that in our study, regtech firms ranked regulators as the fifth highest barrier to regtech adoption. but interestingly, banks thought the opposite. they actually ranked regulators as the third lowest barrier. well, of course, this may just be an indication that banks are exceptionally tactful in responding to our survey! 25. but joking aside, i am sure you want to know what are the most common regtech adoption barriers identified in our study? those include : first, concerns over budget issues there are also concerns about solutions lacking maturity and then respondents talked about a shortage of appropriate talent there are also concerns about the risks involved in applying regtech solutions ; and finally, there is a lack of awareness of the potential value of regtech 26. quite understandably so, budget constraints were consistently named as the top barrier by both financial institutions and regtech providers. especially in the current environment, cost management is a key focus for most banks. but it is sometimes forgotten that, as well as improving the quality of risk management and regulatory compliance, regtech offers longterm cost savings. this is a benefit that needs to be articulated much more loudly and clearly going forward. 27. and then about the lack of mature solutions – a lot of available regtech solutions were developed for other markets, and respondents to our study shared that those solutions may not adequately address specific hong kong circumstances. nor are those solutions always able to meet all the specific business requirements of our financial institutions. 28. another barrier is the lack of skilled talent. our findings show that local banks have particular difficulty in recruiting and retaining talent with skills across multiple disciplines. it appears that we do need to focus more of our efforts in developing a workforce that possesses skills across different business domains, as well as technical programming, data analytics and an understanding of regulations. it does sound like an impossible mission, but nonetheless we believe it is a critical one. 29. it was also noted that most banks are taking a “ low - risk ” and conservative approach to adopting regtech solutions. some still consider reg

##ma is publishing today will encourage banks in hong kong to actively consider the challenges that can be solved with regtech. we want to see banks embracing new technologies and proofs of concept, and ultimately adopting more regtech solutions in the years ahead. 5 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches 56. this is also an opportunity for the regtech community to develop their solutions for the hong kong market. 57. i trust that our goals are crystal clear. we want to accelerate the adoption of regtech in hong kong. and this will involve us working hand - in - hand with banks and the regtech community, in order to realise our vision for regtech 2025. 58. on that, i very much look forward to your support in our regtech journey in the next few years. and i trust you would find the rest of the fintech week both enjoyable and fruitful! thank you very much! 6 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches