H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), delivered virtual remarks and participated in a high-level meeting on financial inclusion with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) today. The UNSGSA was co-chair of the meeting, alongside Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the BIS.
The UNSGSA’s remarks focused on how to enhance collaboration among financial standard-setting bodies (SSBs) and the financial inclusion community. She also discussed central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and their role in inclusive finance, as well as progress on approaches to address unintended consequences from global standards that could hamper financial inclusion.
The meeting was virtually attended by leaders from SSBs and various organizations focused on financial inclusion. SSBs included the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI), the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
Financial inclusion-related organizations included the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), Flourish Ventures, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank.
Queen Máxima routinely engages with SSBs on how to best support and incorporate financial inclusion into their agendas. Overall, this was the sixth high-level meeting on financial inclusion that the UNSGSA has helped convene between SSBs and stakeholders in financial inclusion.
Additionally, the UNSGSA held virtual bilateral meetings with BIS General Manager Carstens, BIS Financial Stability Institute Chair Fernando Restoy, FATF President Marcus Pleyer, BIS Innovation Hub Head Benoît Cœuré, and BIS Financial Stability Policy Head Stijn Claessens.
UNSGSA recently co-hosted a virtual roundtable meeting with the BIS on CBDCs and financial inclusion, which included central bank governors from select emerging markets.