The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched a project to help the financial industry explore artificial intelligence agents while developing a governance framework for their use.
Announced at Hong Kong FinTech Week on 2 November, Project SAGE—short for Securing Agentic Finance with Governance and Enablement—is part of a wider package covering AI, tokenisation and technology resilience. Source: HKMA
AI agents are systems designed to carry out tasks towards a goal. Their potential use in financial services raises questions about how banks oversee their actions and manage the risks.
To support Project SAGE, the HKMA has established a cross-sector expert group and published a discussion paper seeking industry feedback on supervisory considerations for banks using agentic AI.
The authority also announced that the pilot phase of Project Ensemble has moved to a new stage, enabling real-value tokenised transactions around the clock. The HKMA said the development could support activities such as treasury management and the management of tokenised asset portfolios.
Separately, the HKMA and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology launched a post-quantum cryptography toolkit to help banks plan for a future transition in their security systems. The authority said quantum computing could eventually compromise widely used encryption that protects customer data and transactions.
The toolkit is intended to evolve as standards and practical experience develop. The measures form part of the HKMA’s broader Fintech 2030 programme.
