The Financial & Economic Oversight Working Group studies opportunities to use blockchain technologies to improve a variety of financial system practicalities. For example, the group is looking at a range of fintech issues including Universal Borrower Databases and Publicly Traded Company Filing Databases just to name a couple of possibilities.
Distributed ledger technologies and digital tokens for the first time allow the creation of new classes of decentralized business-to-business and business-to-consumer ecologies which can assist in equality and fairness in access to capital for borrowers. Or, in the case of publicly traded company filings, to establish a more equitable and transparent distribution of financially meaningful information thus creating a more fair playing field for the investing community.
Blockchain technology may be leveraged to assist the portion of the population described as sub-prime by the financial industry. Establishment of creditworthiness for this group is a hurdle for a better life. Archaic banking practices have effectively blocked this hard working segment of the population from being able to improve their quality of life. The trustless record of a borrower’s behaviour and track record stands as a demonstration of creditworthiness. Blockchain can be utilized towards this end.
In the case of filings of publicly traded companies, prompt and transparent distribution of meaningful investment information to the investing public is held as an ideal, yet current practices, predicated upon legacy systems, create a time lag which is exploited by the few “in the know” as an opportunity for insider trading and front running. This is a well known and permitted two tier system that is claimed to be unavoidable simply because of the limitations of technology, at least this has been the argument used until the advent of blockchain.
To achieve its objectives, the group intends to bring together the key stakeholders from government, professional and trades associations and private sector impacted by the existing practices. Our group plans to solicit requirements and feedback from these groups and publish white papers, articles, and presentation materials to be made exclusively available to GBA members.
Sample focuses for the Working Group:
1. Canadian Legislative Initiatives regarding Universal Database for sub-prime borrowers.
2. SEDAR (Canadian Repository for filings of publicly traded companies) inequalities and lack of transparency.