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Financial regulation is a form of
regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...
or supervision, which subjects
financial institution Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial inst ...
s to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the stability and integrity of the
financial system A financial system is a system that allows the exchange of funds between financial market participants such as lenders, investors, and borrowers. Financial systems operate at national and global levels. Financial institutions consist of complex, ...
. This may be handled by either a
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
or non-government organization. Financial regulation has also influenced the structure of banking sectors by increasing the variety of financial products available. Financial regulation forms one of three legal categories which constitutes the content of
financial law Financial law is the law and regulation of the commercial banking, capital markets, insurance, derivatives and investment management sectors. Understanding financial law is crucial to appreciating the creation and formation of banking and financ ...
, the other two being market practices and
case law Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of a l ...
.


History

In the early modern period, the Dutch were the pioneers in financial regulation. The first recorded ban (regulation) on
short selling In finance, being short in an asset means investing in such a way that the investor will profit if the value of the asset falls. This is the opposite of a more conventional "long" position, where the investor will profit if the value of the ...
was enacted by the Dutch authorities as early as 1610.


Aims of regulation

The objectives of financial regulators are usually: * market confidence – to maintain confidence in the financial system * financial stability – contributing to the protection and enhancement of stability of the financial system * consumer protection – securing the appropriate degree of protection for consumers.


Structure of supervision

Acts empower organizations, government or non-government, to monitor activities and enforce actions. There are various setups and combinations in place for the financial regulatory structure around the globe.


Supervision of stock exchanges

Exchange acts ensure that trading on the exchanges is conducted in a proper manner. Most prominent the pricing process, execution and settlement of trades, direct and efficient trade monitoring.


Supervision of listed companies

Financial regulators ensure that listed companies and market participants comply with various regulations under the trading acts. The trading acts demands that listed companies publish regular financial reports, ad hoc notifications or directors' dealings. Whereas market participants are required to publish major shareholder notifications. The objective of monitoring compliance by listed companies with their disclosure requirements is to ensure that investors have access to essential and adequate information for making an informed assessment of listed companies and their securities.


Supervision of investment management

Asset management supervision or investment acts ensures the frictionless operation of those vehicles.


Supervision of banks and financial services providers

Banking acts lay down rules for banks which they have to observe when they are being established and when they are carrying on their business. These rules are designed to prevent unwelcome developments that might disrupt the smooth functioning of the banking system. Thus ensuring a strong and efficient banking system.


Authority by country

The following is a short listing of regulatory authorities in various jurisdictions, for a more complete listing, please see
list of financial regulatory authorities by country The following is an incomplete list of financial regulatory authorities by country. List A-B * Afghanistan - Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) * Albania - Albanian Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) * Algeria - Commission d'Organisation et de ...
. *
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and its territories **
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
(SEC) **
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a private American corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) that regulates member brokerage firms and exchange markets. FINRA is the successor to the National Associat ...
(FINRA) **
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, mortg ...
(CFPB) ** Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) **
Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
("Fed") **
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures cred ...
(FDIC) **
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all nation ...
(OCC) **
National Association of Insurance Commissioners The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is the U.S. standard-setting and regulatory support organization created and governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territor ...
(NAIC) (a State-based regulatory standards organization, the
McCarran–Ferguson Act The McCarran–Ferguson Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1011-1015, is a United States federal law that exempts the business of insurance from most federal regulation, including federal antitrust laws to a limited extent. The 79th Congress passed the McCarran ...
exempts the "business of insurance" from most regulation at the Federal level) **
National Credit Union Administration The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is a government-backed insurer of credit unions in the United States, one of two agencies that provide deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. depository institutions, the other being the Federa ...
(NCUA) *
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
**
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...
(BoE) ** Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) **
Financial Conduct Authority The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulation, financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The ...
(FCA) *
Financial Services Agency The is a Japanese government agency and an integrated financial regulator responsible for overseeing banking, securities and exchange, and insurance sectors in order to ensure the stability of the financial system of Japan. The agency operates w ...
(FSA),
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
*
Federal Financial Supervisory Authority The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (german: Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) better known by its abbreviation BaFin is the financial regulatory authority for Germany. It ...
(BaFin),
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
*
Autorité des marchés financiers (France) Autorité des marchés financiers may refer to: * Autorité des marchés financiers (France) *Autorité des marchés financiers (Québec) Autorité des marchés financiers may refer to: *Autorité des marchés financiers (France) Autorité des march ...
(AMF),
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
*
Monetary Authority of Singapore The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is the central bank and financial regulatory authority of Singapore. It administers the various statutes pertaining to money, banking, insurance, securities and the financial sector in general, as well ...
(MAS),
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
*
Hong Kong Monetary Authority The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is Hong Kong's central bank, central banking institution. It is a government authority founded on 1 April 1993 when the Office of the Exchange Fund and the Office of the Commissioner of Banking merged. Th ...
(HKMA),
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
* Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA),
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
*
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
**
China Banking Regulatory Commission The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) was an agency of the People's Republic of China (PRC) authorised by the State Council to regulate the banking sector of the PRC except the territories of Hong Kong and Macau, both of which are spe ...
(CBRC) **
China Insurance Regulatory Commission The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) was an agency of China authorized by the State Council to regulate the Chinese insurance products and services market and maintain legal and stable operations of insurance industry. It was founded o ...
(CIRC) ** China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) *
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
: **
Reserve Bank of India The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible for ...
(RBI) ** Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) **
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) is the regulator for overseeing insolvency ''proceedings'' and entities like Insolvency Professional Agencies (IPA), Insolvency Professionals (IP) and Information Utilities (IU) in India. It w ...
(IBBI) **
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is a regulatory body under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance , Government of India and is tasked with regulating and licensing the insurance and re-insurance industrie ...
(IRDAI) **
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority is the regulatory body under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance , Government of India for overall supervision and regulation of pension in India. The Government of India had, in the year 19 ...
(PFRDA)


Unique jurisdictions

In most cases, financial regulatory authorities regulate all financial activities. But in some cases, there are specific authorities to regulate each sector of the finance industry, mainly
banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
,
securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...
,
insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
and pensions markets, but in some cases also commodities, futures, forwards, etc. For example, in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, the
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government and the prudential regulator of the Australian financial services industry. APRA was established on 1 July 1998 in response to the re ...
(APRA) supervises banks and insurers, while the
Australian Securities and Investments Commission The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...
(ASIC) is responsible for enforcing financial services and corporations laws. Sometimes more than one institution regulates and supervises the banking market, normally because, apart from regulatory authorities, central banks also regulate the banking industry. For example, in the USA banking is regulated by a lot of regulators, such as the
Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
, the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures cred ...
, the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all nation ...
, the
National Credit Union Administration The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is a government-backed insurer of credit unions in the United States, one of two agencies that provide deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. depository institutions, the other being the Federa ...
, as well as regulators at the state level. In the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, the
European System of Financial Supervision The European System of Financial Supervision (ESFS) is the framework for financial supervision in the European Union that has been in operation since 2011. The system consists of the ''European Supervisory Authorities'' (ESAs), the European Syst ...
consists of the
European Banking Authority The European Banking Authority (EBA) is a regulatory agency of the European Union headquartered in Paris. Its activities include conducting stress tests on European banks to increase transparency in the European financial system and identifying ...
(EBA), the
European Securities and Markets Authority The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is an independent European Union Authority located in Paris. ESMA replaced the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) on 1 January 2011. It is one of the three new European Sup ...
(ESMA) and the
European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) is a European Union financial regulatory institution that replaced the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS). It is established under EU Re ...
(EIOPA) as well as the
European Systemic Risk Board The European Systemic Risk Board () is a group established on 16 December 2010 in response to the ongoing financial crisis. It is tasked with the macro-prudential oversight of the financial system within the European Union in order to contrib ...
. The
Eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU policies ...
countries are forming a
Single Supervisory Mechanism The Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) is the first pillar of the European banking union and is the legislative and institutional framework that grants the European Central Bank (ECB) a leading supervisory role over banks in the EU. The ECB d ...
under the
European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#Intern ...
as a prelude to
Banking union The banking union of the European Union is the transfer of responsibility for banking policy from the national to the EU level in several EU member states, initiated in 2012 as a response to the Eurozone crisis. The motivation for banking union w ...
. There are also associations of financial regulatory authorities. At the international level, there is the
International Organization of Securities Commissions The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is an association of organizations that regulate the world's securities and futures markets. Members are typically primary securities and/or futures regulators in a national jurisdic ...
(IOSCO), the
International Association of Insurance Supervisors The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) is a voluntary membership organization of insurance supervisors from over 190 jurisdictions, constituting 97% of the world's insurance premiums. It is the international standards-sett ...
, the
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) is a committee of banking supervisory authorities that was established by the central bank governors of the Group of Ten (G10) countries in 1974. The committee expanded its membership in 2009 a ...
, the Joint Forum, and the
Financial Stability Board The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. It was established after the G20 London summit in April 2009 as a successor to the Financial Stability Forum ...
, where national authorities set standards through consensus-based decision-making processes. The structure of financial regulation has changed significantly in the past two decades, as the legal and geographic boundaries between markets in banking, securities, and insurance have become increasingly "blurred" and
globalized Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
.


Regulatory reliance on credit rating agencies

Think-tanks such as the World Pensions Council (WPC) have argued that most European governments pushed dogmatically for the adoption of the
Basel II Basel II is the second of the Basel Accords, which are recommendations on banking laws and regulations issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. It is now extended and partially superseded by Basel III. The Basel II Accord was publ ...
recommendations, adopted in 2005, transposed in European Union law through the
Capital Requirements Directive The Capital Requirements Directives (CRD) for the financial services industry have introduced a supervisory framework in the European Union which reflects the Basel II and Basel III rules on capital measurement and capital standards. Member St ...
(CRD), effective since 2008. In essence, they forced European banks, and, more importantly, the
European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#Intern ...
itself e.g. when gauging the
solvency Solvency, in finance or business, is the degree to which the current assets of an individual or entity exceed the current liabilities of that individual or entity. Solvency can also be described as the ability of a corporation to meet its long-t ...
of EU-based financial institutions, to rely more than ever on the standardized assessments of
credit risk A credit risk is risk of default on a debt that may arise from a borrower failing to make required payments. In the first resort, the risk is that of the lender and includes lost principal and interest, disruption to cash flows, and increased ...
marketed by two private US agencies- Moody's and S&P, thus using
public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
and ultimately taxpayers’ money to strengthen an anti-competitive duopolistic industry.


See also

*
Bank regulation Bank regulation is a form of government regulation which subjects banks to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, designed to create market transparency between banking institutions and the individuals and corporations with whom th ...
*
Finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
* Financial ethics *
Financial repression Financial repression comprises "policies that result in savers earning returns below the rate of inflation" to allow banks to "provide cheap loans to companies and governments, reducing the burden of repayments." It can be particularly effective a ...
*
Global financial system The global financial system is the worldwide framework of legal agreements, institutions, and both formal and informal economic actors that together facilitate international flows of financial capital for purposes of investment and trade finan ...
*
Group of Thirty The Group of Thirty, often abbreviated to G30, is an international body of financiers and academics which aims to deepen understanding of economic and financial issues and to examine consequences of decisions made in the public and private sec ...
*
Insurance law Insurance law is the practice of law surrounding insurance, including insurance policies and claims. It can be broadly broken into three categories - regulation of the business of insurance; regulation of the content of insurance policies, especial ...
*
International Organization of Securities Commissions The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is an association of organizations that regulate the world's securities and futures markets. Members are typically primary securities and/or futures regulators in a national jurisdic ...
*
International Centre for Financial Regulation The International Centre for Financial Regulation (ICFR) (2009–12) was a UK-based non-partisan organisation focused entirely on financial regulation that operated between 2009 and 2012. History IFCR was the product of a collaboration between a ...
* LabEx ReFi - European Laboratory on Financial Regulation *
Macroprudential regulation Macroprudential regulation is the approach to financial regulation that aims to mitigate risk to the financial system as a whole (or "systemic risk"). In the aftermath of the late-2000s financial crisis, there is a growing consensus among policymak ...
* Microprudential regulation *
Regulatory capture In politics, regulatory capture (also agency capture and client politics) is a form of corruption of authority that occurs when a political entity, policymaker, or regulator is co-opted to serve the commercial, ideological, or political interests ...
*
Regulatory economics Regulatory economics is the economics of regulation. It is the application of law by government or regulatory agencies for various purposes, including remedying market failure, protecting the environment and economic management. Regulation Regu ...
* Securities commission * * Virtual currency law in the United States


References


Further reading

* Labonte, Marc. (2017)
''Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of the U.S. Financial Regulatory Framework''.
Washington, D.C.:
Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a c ...
. * * Simpson, D., Meeks, G., Klumpes, P., & Andrews, P. (2000). ''Some cost-benefit issues in financial regulation.'' London: Financial Services Authority.


External links


Securities Lawyer's Deskbook
from the
University of Cincinnati College of Law The University of Cincinnati College of Law was founded in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. It is the fourth oldest continuously running law school in the United States — after Harvard, the University of Virginia, and Yale — and the first in ...

Ana Carvajal, Jennifer Elliott: IMF Study Points to Gaps in Securities Market Regulation

IOSCO: Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation (PDF-Datei 67 Seiten)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Financial Regulation Financial law