Introduction
This section contains information about useful resources on the Internet and the Physical World on Regulations and Regulatory Compliance Technology and will be updated continually. Please feel free to explore these links and knowledge materials.
Please be aware of our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use with respect to links to third party sites
A) Regulators
B) Organizations and Bodies
REGULATORS
List of links to some of the Key Regulatory Bodies having an influence on Financial Services and Retail Markets
1. UNITED KINGDOM
a) Bank of England http://www.bankofengland.co.uk
The Financial Services Act (2012) has created an independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) at the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has ceased to exist in its current form with its responsibilities transferred to two new bodies. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is a part of the Bank of England, focusing on prudential issues. The Financial Conduct Authority, a separate body, is now responsible for business and market conduct. The reforms transfer responsibility for the supervision of financial market infrastructure to the Bank from FSA. These reforms have taken effect on 1 April 2013.
The Financial Policy Committee (FPC)
The new legislation has established a Financial Policy Committee (FPC) charged with a primary objective of identifying, monitoring and taking action to remove or reduce systemic risks with a view to protecting and enhancing the resilience of the UK financial system. The Committee has a secondary objective to support the economic policy of the Government. In February 2011 the Bank’s Court of Directors created an interim FPC to undertake, as far as possible, the future statutory role of FPC. Although lacking the statutory powers of Direction and Recommendation, the interim FPC contributes to financial stability by identifying, monitoring and publicising risks to the financial system and advising action to reduce and mitigate them. The interim FPC held its first policy meeting in June 2011, and has met on a quarterly basis since then. The Committee publishes a record of its formal meetings, and is responsible for the Bank’s bi-annual Financial Stability Report.
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is responsible for the supervision of banks, building societies and credit unions, insurers and major investment firms. In total the PRA will regulate around 1,700 financial firms. The PRA’s role is defined in terms of two statutory objectives to promote the safety and soundness of these firms and – specifically for insurers – to contribute to the securing of an appropriate degree of protection for policyholders. In promoting safety and soundness, the PRA will focus primarily on the harm that firms can cause to the stability of the UK financial system. A stable financial system is one in which firms continue to provide critical financial services to the economy – a precondition for a healthy and successful economy.
The PRA will work alongside the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) creating a “twin peaks” regulatory structure in the UK. The FCA will be responsible for promoting competition, ensuring financial markets function well, and financial firms’ conduct of business so that consumers get a fair deal.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) http://www.fca.org.uk/
The FCA is a quasi-governmental agency that regulates financial firms providing services to consumers and maintains the integrity of the UK’s financial markets. Its focus is on the regulation of conduct by both retail and wholesale financial services firms. Like its predecessor the FSA, the FCA is structured as a company limited by guarantee. The authority has significant powers, including the power to regulate conduct related to the marketing of financial products. It is able to specify minimum standards and to place requirements on products. In addition, the FCA is able to ban financial products for up to a year while considering an indefinite ban; it will have the power to instruct firms to immediately retract or modify promotions which it finds to be misleading, and to publish such decisions.
b) Department for Business Innovation and Skills http://www.bis.gov.uk/
c) Office of Fair Trading http://www.oft.gov.uk/
d) The Pensions Regulator http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/
2. EUROPEAN UNION
Before and during the financial crisis in 2007 and 2008, the European Parliament called for a move towards more integrated European supervision in order to ensure a true level playing field for all actors at the level of the European Union and to reflect the increasing integration of financial markets in the Union.
As a result, the supervisory framework was strengthened to reduce risk and severity of future financial crises and led to the formation of the European System of Financial Supervisors that comprises three European Supervisory Authorities :
a) European Banking Authority for the banking sector http://www.eba.europa.eu/
b) European Securities and Markets Authority for the securities sector http://esma.europa.eu/
c) European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority for the insurance and occupational pensions sector
as well as the European Systemic Risk Board, an independent EU body responsible for the macro-prudential oversight of the financial system within the EU http://www.esrb.europa.eu
ORGANIZATIONS AND BODIES
1) International Centre for Financial Regulation http://www.icffr.org
The International Centre for Financial Regulation (ICFR) is a product of cooperation between 19 leading financial institutions and government, provides training, scholarship and thought leadership on financial regulation. The Centre, while based in the City of London, serves constituencies well beyond the borders of the UK. Internationally, the ICFR engages in dialogue across borders on effective regulatory cooperation and regulatory best practice; acts as a clearing centre for those seeking training on regulation and produces research on regulatory frameworks fit for the 21st Century. It is an independent, non-partisan organisation to be exclusively focused on best practice in all aspects of financial regulation internationally.
The ICFR recently organized the 2011 Annual International Regulatory Summit: What Does Good Regulation Look Like? in Berlin. Some of the most interesting highlights of the discussions and debates on the following topics can be found here:
a) Lessons from Banking, Securities and Insurance Regulation
b) The Making of Good Regulation Accountability, Regulatory Capture, and Good Enforcement
c) Between International Coordination and National Differences
