OSC chairman Howard Wetston has been named vice chair of the International Organization of Securities Commissions Organization. His appointment was announced at the group’s recent meeting in Sydney, Australia.
At the same time, Australian Securities and Investments Commission chair Greg Medcraft was revealed as the next chair of IOSCO. He’s succeeding Masamichi Kono of the Japan FSA, and says he plans to build on the former leader’s work.
Wetston, who’s taking over for Ethiopis Tafara, will work alongside Medcraft. The two plan to focus on ensuring investors are confident and informed across the globe. Medcraft says they’ll also continue to make sure markets are efficient and will reduce systemic risk.
Wetston adds they’ll “advance IOSCO’s standard-setting agenda, including new mandates on investor protection, cross-border regulation and deterrence.”
To this end, IOSCO members will establish a task force to work on cross-border regulation, as well as a standing committee on investor education.
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The task force will develop measures that can help regulate all securities activities that cross borders. If appropriate, it will then develop principles to guide how these measures should be put in place.
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For its part, the education and protection committee will help boost the literacy of retail investors. Its aim is to ensure customers are properly informed about the investment products and services they’re offered.
During the meeting, IOSCO also discussed the emerging risks that will most affect these investors, as well as the global financial industry over the next year. It will examine issues like the possible unintended consequences of new and altered securities regulations, particularly those imposed on emerging markets.
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IOSCO says, “The search for yield could fuel the creation of new asset bubbles, particularly in emerging markets with largely undiversified economies. A sudden upward spike in interest rates could [also] damage global economic growth.”
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As a result, the organization will bring its Emerging Markets Committee in on more policy and implementation work. As it stands, the EMC accounts for 75% of IOSCO membership. It says the group has a significant responsibility for the development and implementation of IOSCO standards on a global level.
IOSCO examined these additional topics during the meeting:
- Global imbalances caused by capital flows
- Weaknesses in financial market infrastructure
- High frequency trading and market fragmentation
- Cyber attacks
IOSCO is the leading international policy forum for securities regulators. The organization’s membership regulates more than 95% of the world’s securities markets in more than 115 jurisdictions.
Read the full summary of the meeting.
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