John Hawke, US Comptroller of the Currency, has underscored the need for international co-operation in the supervision of electronic banking in a speech given to the annual International Monetary Seminar sponsored by the Banque de France, Paris.
"If e-banking is to proceed relatively unimpeded and deliver the benefits we anticipate, host country supervisors will need to achieve a high level of comfort with home country supervision," says Hawke. "The alternative, new laws and regulations governing e-banking in each country in which it is conducted, would impose a heavy burden on innovation," he adds.
Hawke says a report being prepared now will outline global e-banking risks and set forth 14 risk management principles for e-banking. The report, to be issued by the Basel Committee on Bank Supervision's Electronic Banking Group, chaired by Hawke, addresses as a top priority the need for boards of directors and senior management to establish effective management oversight over e-banking risks, including the establishment of accountability, policies and controls to manage risks.
The membership of the Electronic Banking Group comprises 17 central banks and bank supervisory agencies from the G-10 countries, along with observers from the European Central Bank, the European Commission and bank supervisors from Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The Group, which is meeting this week in Paris, says its next step will be to develop principles to guide cross-border co-operation among bank supervisors on e-banking.