Can the finance sector oversee AI innovation while maintaining its rapid progress?

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the OECD, the GPAI or their member countries.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer an emerging feature of financial systems. From credit scoring and fraud detection to financial advice and customer support, AI is reshaping how finance operates. Yet, as AI innovation accelerates, so too does a critical policy question: How can regulators keep pace with AI to ensure positive outcomes for consumers and markets? And how can they identify and assess emerging risks to market integrity and stability?

By focusing on supervisory practice – how existing financial services rules are interpreted, implemented and enforced – policymakers can create an environment where innovation in financial markets thrives without compromising trust, stability and the pace of innovation.

Strong regulatory foundations, complex supervisory realities

Under the broadly technology-neutral principle that guides financial regulation in OECD economies, existing requirements apply regardless of the technology used to deliver a financial service or product. Financial supervision serves as the practical enforcement mechanism for financial regulation, ensuring that policies translate into effective oversight and resilient financial markets.

Practical implementation of AI policies in finance may face challenges due to the intrinsic characteristics of AI innovation, especially advanced AI such as agentic AI systems, the growing volume and speed of transactions and the opacity and complexity of some advanced models that challenge human oversight, as well as their potentially autonomous nature. Limited data on AI adoption by financial services firms makes it difficult to evaluate its use and may hinder monitoring of associated vulnerabilities and their impact on markets and consumers more generally.