In our continued commitment to contribute to Singapore's vibrant and emerging fintech and innovative technology environment, BNY Mellon presented a showcase at the Singapore FinTech Festival for the fourth consecutive year. More than 60,000 participants from over 160 countries attended the five-day virtual event from November 8-12, 2021 to celebrate innovation with senior executives and other leaders from the world of finance and technology.
Aligning with the theme of this year’s Singapore FinTech Festival, “Web 3.0 and its impact on financial services”, BNY Mellon delegates shared how the company is at the forefront of supporting institutions as they explore digital assets, helping to build a sustainable future for the industry, and supporting the markets as new digital infrastructure evolves.
Roman Regelman, CEO of Asset Servicing and Head of Digital at BNY Mellon, who was a featured speaker at the event, noted that Web 3.0 is the intersection of trust and innovation, just as BNY Mellon has been throughout its history. He said, “Innovation is the norm in any rapidly changing industry, but it doesn’t occur at the expense of trust. Consumers around the world put their trust in their digital platforms. And at BNY Mellon, we’re building and scaling the next generation of capabilities for clients on a foundation of trust. Given our critical role in the global financial system, our mission is to empower clients to bridge the traditional-digital divide and future-proof their businesses.”
Deep Engagement With the Emerging Fintech and Innovative Technology Ecosystem
Leveraging our expertise and resources, BNY Mellon serves on the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN)1 Strategic Advisory Council that drives financial inclusion through initiatives such as APIX, a global fintech marketplace and sandbox for collaboration between financial institutions and fintechs. At the inaugural APIX Awards held during the Singapore FinTech Festival, BNY Mellon was awarded an Ecosystem Award in recognition of its well-articulated Innovation Framework and active contribution to building an open platform and community.
BNY Mellon is also one of the 10 financial institutions working with APIX on ChekFIN, a global fintech registry developed by AFIN in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group Fintech Control Tower (BCG FCT) and Temasek-founded Affinidi. This registry, which went live on Dec. 1, 2021, aims to assist financial institutions in identifying and evaluating fintech companies for collaboration and development opportunities.
Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said, “Web 3.0 is the foundation of the future of financial services. The Singapore FinTech Festival showcased extensive dialogue and insights on this subject, and BNY Mellon’s contribution to the discussions was highly valued. As one of the pioneer banks of ChekFIN, a Web 3.0 initiative, BNY Mellon cements its deep engagement with the ecosystem.”
Such a foundation is critical for the adoption of new investment instruments. Speaking on this at the event, Hans Brown, Head of Enterprise Innovation and Chief Information Officer for Corporate Technology at BNY Mellon, added, “Digital assets are reshaping the financial ecosystem, and BNY Mellon is committed to supporting the development of innovative next-generation solutions in collaboration with external stakeholders that share our vision. Institutions like ours are critically focused on how we develop the infrastructure and capabilities that all participants will need in this new economy. As digital assets become more mainstream, we continue to accelerate our work in this area, engaging with our diverse client base – including some of the largest financial institutions in the world – in ways that empower them to unlock value.”
Supporting Innovation Through Industry Competitions
Hans Brown was also on the judging panel of APIX’s inaugural Global Veritas Challenge. The Veritas initiative was launched in 2019 to enable financial institutions to assess their Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA)-driven solutions against the principles of Fairness, Ethics, Accountability and Transparency (FEAT).2 BNY Mellon is one of the consortium members of 25 banks and technology firms in this collaborative work led by the MAS. Participants responded to the Challenge with solutions that applied these principles to validate the fairness of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in banking.
Another key industry initiative introduced at the Singapore FinTech Festival this year was the Global CBDC Challenge, which showcased innovative Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) solutions designed to enhance payment efficiencies and promote financial inclusion. BNY Mellon was part of a multi-institution hackathon team that explored the potential uses of a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)-based settlement network.
BNY Mellon Singapore FinTech Festival Highlights At-A-Glance
The following is a round-up of all BNY Mellon’s Singapore FinTech Festival speaking engagements and activities.
Main Summit Core Strategy Session
- “Web 3.0 Market Infrastructure and Ecosystem Transformation” featuring Roman Regelman, Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Executive Officer of Asset Servicing and Head of Digital, BNY Mellon (panelist)
Deep Dive Sessions
- “New Investment Instruments” featuring Hans Brown, Head of Enterprise Innovation and Chief Information Officer for Corporate Technology, BNY Mellon (panelist)
- Global Veritas Challenge, featuring Hans Brown, Head of Enterprise Innovation and Chief Information Officer for Corporate Technology, BNY Mellon (judging panel member)
- Global CBDC Challenge, supported by BNY Mellon
Exclusive BNY Mellon Client Masterclass
- “Unlocking the Power of Innovation and Partnership: Lessons Learned” featuring Fangfang Chen, Asia Pacific Chair and Asia Pacific Head of Asset Servicing and Digital, BNY Mellon (moderator), Hans Brown, Head of Enterprise Innovation and Chief Information Officer for Corporate Technology, BNY Mellon (panelist) and Noam Tasch, Global Head of Digital Partnerships, BNY Mellon (panelist)
- “From Fringe to Future: How Do We Shape Digital Asset Infrastructure?” featuring Fangfang Chen, Asia Pacific Chair and Asia Pacific Head of Asset Servicing and Digital, BNY Mellon (moderator), Hadley Stern, Global Head of Digital Assets Custody, BNY Mellon (panelist) and Saket Sharma, Treasury Services’ Chief Information and Digital Officer, BNY Mellon (panelist)
- “iFlow – A summary of iFlow Construct, Analysis and Applications” featuring Daniel Tenegauzer, Head of Markets Strategy, BNY Mellon (presenter), John Arabadjis, Head of Macro Strategy Products & Analytics, BNY Mellon (presenter) and Chong Wee Khoon, Senior Asia Pacific Market Strategist, BNY Mellon (presenter)
- “ESG Data Analytics Application – Solving ESG Challenges” featuring Jolene Cheong, Senior Business Development, Pre-Sales Consultant, BNY Mellon (presenter) and Siddhartha Oberoi, Head of Markets Development - Business Applications, Data & Analytics, BNY Mellon (presenter)
BNY Mellon Silver Sponsor Event
- “Deliver Market-Leading Capital Markets Solutions via Machine Learning” featuring Sarthak Pattanaik, Chief Information Officer of Clearance and Collateral Management, BNY Mellon (speaker) and Victor O’Laughlen, Digital Business Leader of Clearance and Collateral Management, BNY Mellon (speaker)
Oxygen by APIX Masterclass
- “When Wall Street and FinTechs Collaborate: Accelerating Digitization Across Custody and Security Services” featuring Johnny Wijaya, Director and Head of Head of APAC Innovation Center, BNY Mellon (moderator) and Noam Tasch, Global Head of Digital Partnerships, BNY Mellon (panelist)
STACS Showcase 2021
- "Tokenization: The Future of Funds" featuring Lory Kehoe, Director, Digital Assets & Blockchain, BNY Mellon (panelist)
NUS FinTech Lab 2021
- “Reimagining Innovation” featuring Daniel Tenengauzer, Head of Markets Strategy, BNY Mellon (panelist)
- World Economic Forum & Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) Global Roundtable
- “Scaling Digital Finance” featuring Johnny Wijaya, Director and Head of Head of APAC Innovation Center, BNY Mellon
1 AFIN was established in 2018 to facilitate innovation and cooperation between financial institutions and fintechs in an effort to digitally transform the banking and financial sectors across Southeast Asia to ultimately drive financial inclusion through APIX, APIX Oxygen and other initiatives.
2 The FEAT principles were co-created by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the financial industry to provide guidance to firms offering financial products and services on the responsible use of AIDA and to strengthen internal governance around data management and use.