Norwegian Bank Standards Office Plans Blockchain Summit

Norway-Oslo
12 November 2015

Bankenes StandardiseringsKontor (BSK), a Norway-based private banking standards body, is planning to unite financial industry stakeholders for a forthcoming meeting on blockchain technology.

Founded in 1994 by all the domestic banks, BSK is tasked with establishing and maintaining industry standards for payment systems, IT security and information exchange. Further, BSK’s board of directors include representatives from some of the country’s largest financial institutions, including DNB and SpareBank.

An internal note issued by BSK indicated that, while the organization believes the impact of the technology is not assured, the rising interest in its use necessitates immediate supervisory action.

Terje Sletbak, principal advisor at BSK, told CoinDesk:

“BSK will in the near future invite experts and executives from the financial industry in Norway and relevant regulatory authorities. Our purpose is in the first place to share our knowledge about the new technology, and discuss possible applications for the financial services industry.”

“We will initially arrange a roundtable conference with some selected experts in the industry, with the purpose to establish a collaborative forum to conduct research into the technology, in addition to establishing practical test cases,” he added.

According to Sletbak, BSK is not currently involved in any specific blockchain projects.

Read the full note below:

Diskusjonsnotat Bsk Om Digitale Valutaer Og Bruk Av Blockchain i Finansnæringen (1)

Pete Rizzo contributed reporting.

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