The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has announced a framework to help banks adopt more autonomous AI systems while maintaining strong governance.
The region's de facto central bank said in a Thursday statement that the "Accountability, Resilience, and Trust" (ART) framework is designed to "support the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence in the banking sector."
Specifically, key initiatives include updated supervisory guidance, a new AI training data-sharing platform, and further agentic AI testing via a sandbox.
The latest framework builds on Hong Kong's broader push to promote AI adoption across its financial sector. In 2024, the HKMA launched its generative AI sandbox with Cyberport, a government-owned digital technology hub and AI accelerator. The sandbox served as a risk-controlled setting for banks to trial AI solutions.
In March 2026, four Hong Kong regulators jointly launched what they called "GenA.I. Sandbox++," which expanded the model beyond banking to sectors including securities, asset management, and insurance. The first cohort of the expanded sandbox selected 36 use cases focused on agentic AI, testing end-to-end processes such as customer onboarding, payments, insurance claims, and AI oversight of other AI systems, according to a separate August announcement.
Under the newly announced ART framework, the HKMA said it will conduct further testing of agentic AI applications through "Sandbox++" and prepare a discussion paper on a proposed supervisory framework for agentic AI.
"The progression from generative to agentic AI represents an important new stage of innovation for the banking sector," Arthur Yuen, deputy chief executive of the HKMA, said in the Thursday statement.
"By pairing innovation with clear accountability, resilient operating models, and effective human oversight, banks can fully realize the benefits of AI while maintaining the trust and stability of Hong Kong's financial system," Yuen added.