This paper examines how a range of stability-oriented regulatory policies for banking and insurance are related to selected stability and competition outcomes in these sectors. Based on survey information on financial market regulation, policy indicators for eight areas of prudential banking regulation are constructed, in addition to indicators for the insurance sector. Despite incomplete information on some areas that turned out to be important in the context of the recent financial crisis, the indicators correlate well with different measures of financial stability, both during the recent crisis and beyond. Furthermore, the results do not support the view that there is a general trade-off between stability-oriented regulatory policies and competition in banking and insurance.
