(Singapore, Feb 6, 2020) The US and Singapore have agreed to support allowing financial service suppliers to transfer data across borders, a new joint statement between the two countries has revealed.

The joint statement was co-issued by US Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs Brent McIntosh and Monetary Authority of Singapore Deputy Managing Director Jacqueline Loh in Singapore.

According to the joint statement, the United States and Singapore recognize that the ability to aggregate, store, process, and transmit data across borders is critical to financial sector development.

The expanding use of data in financial services and the increasing use of technology to supply financial services offer a range of benefits, including greater consumer choice, enhanced risk management capabilities, and increased efficiency.

These developments also pose new and complex risks for markets and challenges for policymakers and regulators. The United States and Singapore are committed to working together and with other countries to promote an environment in financial services that fosters the development of the global economy.

Consistent with these shared objectives, US and Singapore support allowing financial service suppliers to transfer data across borders and oppose generally applicable data localization requirements as long as financial regulators have access to data needed for regulatory and supervisory purposes.

Data localization requirements can increase cybersecurity and other operational risks, hinder risk management and compliance, and inhibit financial regulatory and supervisory access to information.  Data mobility in financial services supports economic growth and the development of innovative financial services and benefits risk management and compliance programs, including by making it easier to detect cross-border money laundering and terrorist financing patterns, defend against cyberattacks, and manage and assess risk on a global basis.

The United States and Singapore also intend to share information on developments related to these issues and, as appropriate, encourage third countries to adopt policies consistent with this joint statement.

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