Global regulators to question Facebook's Libra amid EU concerns

Global regulators will question Facebook on Monday about its Libra cryptocurrency, amid concerns from European Union governments over the threat the digital currency poses to financial stability, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Officials from 26 central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, will meet with representatives of Libra in Basel on Monday, the FT said, citing officials.

Libra’s founders have also been invited to answer key questions about the currency’s scope and design, FT said.

Facebook did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment outside regular business hours.

Countries including France and Germany have publicly criticized the social media giant’s Libra project, saying it posed risks to EU states’ sovereignty.

Earlier on Wednesday, the financial watchdog FINMA had said, Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project is seeking a Swiss payment system license, noting the breadth of the planned services would require broad oversight.

The world’s largest social media network announced plans in June to launch a cryptocurrency as it seeks to expand beyond social networking and move into e-commerce and global payments, though the plans have drawn intense scrutiny from global financial officials.

“Due to the issuance of Libra payment tokens, the services planned by the Libra project would clearly go beyond those of a pure payment system, FINMA said, noting this mean it would be subject to such additional requirements.

These would extend to capital allocation for credit, market and operational risks, risk concentration and liquidity, and the management of the Libra reserve, it said.