The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) last Friday hosted a meeting in Madrid with 60 market participants from more than 20 countries, including some 30 international financial associations and investor groups.
IOSCO Board Chair Greg Medcraft chaired the meeting, which covered a range of subjects, including IOSCO´s work on the extensive international financial regulatory reform agenda.
Mr. Medcraft outlined the challenges faced by securities regulators globally and the role IOSCO will play in addressing them.
“The major challenges we face are structural change, the risks posed by innovation and the ongoing globalization of our markets. By being proactive and forward looking, IOSCO through its standard setting work, engagement with industry and stakeholders and co-operation among its members can make a significant contribution to those challenges. This meeting is a fine example of the way engagement with industry can help us to better understand these challenges and how we should respond,” he said.
David Wright, Secretary-General, and Tajinder Singh, Deputy Secretary-General, described IOSCO’s current work program. They also outlined new initiatives, including the creation of a Committee on Retail Investors and a Task Force on Cross Border Regulation approved at the recent Board meeting in Montreal.
Participants welcomed IOSCO’s work on cross border regulation and emphasized its importance in addressing the issues many face in conducting business across a number of jurisdictions.
IOSCO Secretariat staff also outlined the risks IOSCO’s research team had identified in recent work – including risks posed by the low interest rate environment, managing collateral, the risks posed by central counterparties and cyber-crime.
The meeting also discussed the opportunities behavioral economics offers securities regulators. In leading discussion on this topic, Mr. Medcraft emphasized the growing role behavioral economics and social media will play in IOSCO´s work, particularly in its efforts to improve informed decision making by retail investors.
The discussions during the meeting underscored IOSCO´s determination to engage with industry and stakeholders in developing early and forward-looking responses to the challenges that securities markets face in a rapidly evolving environment.
Mr. Medcraft said, “This was an important and constructive engagement with stakeholders and is part of our on-going endeavor to meet the IOSCO objectives of reducing systemic risk and ensuring that investors are confident and informed, and markets are fair and efficient.”