Thesis
How financial technology innovation affects efficiency and equality in the UK financial regulatory system
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2024
- Thesis identifier
- T16984
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 201755799
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- Inspired by transparency studies in the 1900s US financial market and distributed ledger technology, this thesis proposes an original theoretical concept of moral transparency. Moral transparency perceives easing social inequality as its purpose, which responds to the public’s sentimental critique towards failures of the UK financial regulatory system and the causes of financial crises. By asking transparency to whom and for what, the thesis distinguishes transparency from information disclosure. Subsequently, the thesis criticises the UK financial regulatory system for being hijacked by information disclosure both before and after 2008. As a notion of transparency, information disclosure suits regulators and market participants’ pursuing of efficiency, but feeds into the excessive speculative culture and leads to excessive concentration of information, wealth, and power in financial intermediaries. This excessive inequality caused financial crises and is still dividing the society. Moral transparency balances the power dynamic between the public and traditional insiders of the financial market (regulators and market participants), by calling for regulators to communicate their reasonings and share knowledge with the public. In doing so, moral transparency help rebuilding the public’s trust towards regulators, allowing regulators to engage with financial innovations and reduce information reliance on financial intermediaries. Via two case studies from the contemporary UK financial market, the thesis then demonstrates the methods and urgency for UK financial regulators to implement moral transparency. The first case study concerns how MiFID II information disclosure system falls short against meme investors’ involvement in the UK financial market. The second case study unveils how speculative products like crypto derivatives create a paradox between monitoring and reducing systemic risks under the EMIR. These cases studies show that the public’s growing involvement in investment brings back the old debate between financial inclusion and speculation, which cannot be addressed via information disclosure. To avoid another systemic failure, regulators need to embrace moral transparency, change the excessive speculative culture in the UK financial market, rebuild the public’s trust and engage with RegTech.
- Advisor / supervisor
- Wang, Jing
- Randall, Michael
- Resource Type
- Note
- Previously held under moratorium from 12 June 2024 until 12 June 2026.
- DOI
- Date Created
- 2022
Relations
Items
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Visibility | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
PDF of thesis T16984 | 2024-06-18 | Public | Download |