Facebook’s plan for a digital currency draws ECB warning on regulation

Financial regulators must act fast to prepare for the push by US tech giants such as Facebook Inc. into the financial system, according to European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure.

“It’s out of the question to allow them to develop in a regulatory void for their financial service activities, because it’s just too dangerous,” Coeure said on Sunday in Aix-en-Provence in southern France. “We have to move more quickly than we’ve been able to do up until now.”

Facebook’s plan for a digital currency called Libra has policy makers scrambling. The UK’s three main financial regulators are working together on how best to respond. Governor Mark Carney has said the Bank of England approaches it “with an open mind but not an open door.”