Mark Brits

Senior General Manager at The Banking Association South Africa

Mark Brits is a Senior General Manager at The Banking Association South Africa where he heads the Prudential Regulation Division. Prior to joining The Banking Association in 2003, he was a vice president and head of money markets in the treasury of ING Barings in South Africa for seven years. He holds a BCom and MSc. Mark has worked in the banking industry for 36 years and as a policy advocate for the past 19. He also researches and publishes articles on finance. His area of focus is the digitalisation of the financial sector and digital identity is part of it.

Having spent nearly two decades working with policy and regulatory frameworks, the 4IR presents the most exciting opportunity to reshape society. Digital identity and Central Bank Digital Currency introduce more compatible solutions with incumbents, while crypto assets, FinTech and BigTech simply break all the rules, introducing new opportunities that force policy makers to act. Navigating the tension between the freedom of new ideas in real time, and the rigidity of policy and regulation is exciting and challenging. Lateral thinking and bold leadership is required to minimise wasted investment and conflicting regulatory outcomes. Participating in international fora and a constant learning mindset is key.

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