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Public consultation closed since 12 June 2009
The structure and operation of the financial system have undergone marked changes in the past couple of decades, encouraged by dramatic improvements in technology, rapid product innovation, ongoing global financial system integration, competition in financial services, and policy, regulatory, and trade reforms. These developments have led to a dynamic, sophisticated, and global financial services arena and fostered economic growth; at the same time, however, problems of confidence and trust have beset the financial system, with sometimes severe consequences, as demonstrated by the recent financial crisis.
In this context, the Committee on Financial Markets (CMF) and the Insurance and Private Pensions Committee (IPPC) have, in recent years, had a number of discussions on the effectiveness and efficiency of financial regulation. The CMF has had discussions on a broad range of topics, including mergers and acquisitions and other structural developments, competition in financial services, prospects for exchanges and national financial centres, consolidation and other changes in the structure of supervisory and regulatory agencies, and arrangements to ensure regulatory effectiveness and efficiency. Input from CMF delegates has contributed to the discussions. The IPPC has, for its part, held discussions on the effectiveness and efficiency of regulation, particularly in the insurance sector, and conducted a stocktaking of country initiatives to improve regulatory effectiveness and efficiency, based on delegate input.
The CMF and IPPC have decided to conclude this work by developing general guidance for the development of a sound policy framework for effective and efficient financial regulation that would incorporate “good” regulatory approaches and practices synthesised from their respective stocktaking efforts and discussions. This general guidance is aimed at legislators, policymakers, regulators, supervisors, as well as relevant stakeholders, including industry and consumers. The general guidance advances ten key principles for financial regulation.
While the general guidance is based largely on regulatory initiatives and discussions that preceded the current financial crisis, and thus may not offer specific solutions to the crisis, it may nonetheless have relevance to current efforts to reconsider, from a longer-term perspective, the framework for financial sector intervention and regulation. The guidance contains a set of principles that should be adopted or considered as a general means of furthering the attainment of an effective and efficient framework for government intervention and regulation in the financial system. These principles form the basis for a high-level checklist of questions for consideration by governments.
The OECD would like to thank all stakeholders who provided most insightful and useful comments on the draft general guidance and high-level checklist.
Procedure
Please use the comments template and send your comments to the OECD Secretariat (claire.dehouck@oecd.org).
Contact
Mr. Timothy Bishop (Senior Expert in Finance and Insurance, OECD Secretariat, Tel: +33 1 45 24 84 66, timothy.bishop@oecd.org).
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