Hong Kong Monetary Authority launches industry consultation on “renaming virtual banks as licensed digital banks”

Hong Kong virtual banks announced their 2023 annual reports last week. Eight virtual banks lost a total of about HK$2.99 ​​billion last year, which was about 12% narrower than the bank's loss of about HK$3.4 billion in 2022. In response to the fact that the word "virtual" in the name has brought an unreal feeling from time to time in recent years, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched a name change consultation with eight virtual banks, the Hong Kong Association of Banks, the Hong Kong Association of Restricted Licensed Banks and Deposit-taking Companies on April 30, intending to rename "virtual banks" to "licensed digital banks". The consultation will last for one month. It is reported that in Asia, the names of similar banks in various places are different. South Korea and Singapore issue licenses under the name of digital bank, and Singapore further subdivides digital full banks (DFBs) and digital wholesale banks (DWBs). (Hong Kong Economic Times)