# HKMA discussion paper on banks' use of Agentic AI: Discussion Paper on the Use of Agentic A.I. by Banks

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/hkma-agentic-ai-discussion-paper-2026
Last updated: Nov 2, 2026

On 2 November 2026, during Hong Kong FinTech Week, the HKMA launched Project SAGE ('Securing Agentic Finance with Governance and Enablement') and a cross-sectoral Agentic Finance Expert Group, and published a discussion paper on banks' use of Agentic AI, seeking industry feedback on supervisory considerations for governing such applications. This follows through on the agentic-AI discussion paper the HKMA flagged alongside its 15 October 2026 ART Framework, which said it would explore intent-anchored accountability, a registry of material AI agents and intervention mechanisms.

## At a glance

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Authority | [HKMA](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/hkma) |
| Type | Consultation |
| Status | Final |
| Published | Nov 2, 2026 |
| Applies to | Authorized Institutions under the Banking Ordinance (Cap. 155); voluntary feedback exercise, no stated compliance deadline |
| Official text | https://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/news-and-media/press-releases/2026/11/20261102-3/ |

## Key points

- Launched at Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026 alongside Project SAGE and the Agentic Finance Expert Group, whose members span financial institutions, technology providers, professional-services firms and academia.
- Seeks industry feedback on supervisory considerations for governing banks' use of agentic AI; no stated comment deadline found in the HKMA's own announcement.
- Follows through on the agentic-AI governance discussion paper the HKMA flagged on 15 October 2026 alongside the ART Framework.
- The HKMA's own press release does not itself spell out Project SAGE's workstreams; this tracker could not independently confirm their exact scope from HKMA's own text at the time of writing.

## What changed for banks

First follow-through on the ART Framework's promised agentic-AI governance discussion paper — launches a dedicated initiative (Project SAGE) and expert group rather than leaving agentic-AI governance inside the ART guidance alone.

## Use cases it governs

- [Generative & agentic AI](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#generative-agentic-ai)
- [AI governance (general)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#governance-general)
- [Model risk management](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#model-risk)

## FAQ

### What is HKMA's Project SAGE?

A cross-sectoral initiative — Securing Agentic Finance with Governance and Enablement — launched 2 November 2026 with an Agentic Finance Expert Group, alongside a discussion paper seeking industry feedback on supervisory considerations for banks' use of agentic AI.

### Has the HKMA published its promised discussion paper on agentic-AI governance?

Yes, on 2 November 2026, alongside Project SAGE and the Agentic Finance Expert Group — the follow-through flagged when the HKMA announced the ART Framework on 15 October 2026.

## Related documents

- [HKMA "ART" Framework / AI supervisory guidance](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/hkma-art-framework-ai-guidance-2026) — "ART" Framework and Updated Supervisory Guidance for Responsible Adoption of Artificial Intelligence (Oct 15, 2026)
- [HKMA GenA.I. Sandbox++ joint circular](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/hkma-genai-sandbox-plus-plus-2026) — Joint Circular on the Expansion of Generative Artificial Intelligence Sandbox (HKMA, SFC, Insurance Authority and MPFA, 5 March 2026) (Mar 5, 2026)
- [HKMA GenA.I. Sandbox circular](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/hkma-genai-sandbox-2024) — Generative Artificial Intelligence Sandbox (HKMA circular inviting applications to the GenA.I. Sandbox, 20 September 2024) (Sep 20, 2024)
- [HKMA circular on AI for monitoring of suspicious activities](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/hkma-ai-aml-monitoring-2024) — Use of Artificial Intelligence for Monitoring of Suspicious Activities (HKMA circular, 9 September 2024) (Sep 9, 2024)
- [HKMA GenAI consumer protection circular](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/hkma-genai-consumer-protection-2024) — Consumer Protection in respect of Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (HKMA circular, 19 August 2024) (Aug 19, 2024)
- [HKMA BDAI consumer protection principles](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/hkma-bdai-consumer-protection-2019) — Consumer Protection in respect of Use of Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence by Authorized Institutions (HKMA circular, 5 November 2019) (Nov 5, 2019)
- [HKMA High-level Principles on Artificial Intelligence](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/hkma-high-level-principles-ai-2019) — High-level Principles on Artificial Intelligence (HKMA circular to all Authorized Institutions, 1 November 2019) (Nov 1, 2019)
- [Machado interview with Bloomberg (Oct 2026)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/ecb-machado-bloomberg-interview-2026-10) — Interview with Bloomberg — Pedro Machado (Oct 30, 2026)

Last reviewed Nov 2, 2026. Cite the official text (https://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/news-and-media/press-releases/2026/11/20261102-3/) for the rule and this page for the summary and dates.

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