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

Hong Kong virtual banks released their annual reports for 2023 last week. The eight virtual banks collectively lost about 2.99 billion yuan last year, a decrease of about 12% compared to the total loss of about 3.4 billion yuan in 2022. In response to the occasional feeling of "unreality" brought about by the term "virtual" in recent years, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has initiated a consultation on renaming with the eight virtual banks, the Hong Kong Bankers Association, the Hong Kong Restricted Licensed Banks and Deposit-taking Companies Association, with the aim of renaming virtual banks as licensed digital banks, for a period of one month. It is reported that in the Asian region, similar banks have different names in different places. South Korea and Singapore issue licenses under the name of "digital bank", with Singapore further dividing them into digital full banks (DFB) and digital wholesale banks (DWB).