The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has tapped Ontario Securities Commission chairman Howard Wetston to lead efforts to examine the role that securities regulators can play in fostering long-term investment.
At its annual conference in Luxembourg, IOSCO announced that its board has asked Wetston, who also serves as vice chair of IOSCO, and its other vice chair, Ranjit Singh, to lead the group’s work in examining the contribution that IOSCO, and regulators themselves, can make to ensure that capital markets support long term investment.
IOSCO has committed to playing an increasingly active role in promoting the finance of long-term investment through capital markets, in areas such as corporate bond markets, securitization, venture finance, and Islamic Finance.
“This work is particularly critical following the recent call made by the G20 leaders to identify measures to facilitate domestic capital market development and improve the intermediation of global savings for productive long-term investments,” it says, noting that this subject will also be a focus on its next annual conference, slated for Rio in September 2014.
Wetston is also co-leading the group’s work on investor education and financial literacy.
Additionally, IOSCO reviewed its broad agenda for regulatory reform, including its ongoing work in the wake of the financial crisis and the recent LIBOR scandal, which includes efforts to reform oversight of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets, financial benchmarks, credit rating agencies, and shadow banking.
IOSCO’s board also agreed that it needs to develop guidance on the regulation of crowd funding, which, it reports, was identified through a number of meetings as an important emerging innovation. The OSC is considering the prospect of introducing a new crowd funding exemption, and the issue is also being examined by other Canadian authorities, too.
The group says that its board also discussed the need for further work to improve audit quality. And, it agreed to begin work on a strategic plan for 2015-2020 that would define its goals for 2020, and lay out a roadmap for meeting those goals.
It also decided to increase its board by two to 34 members, and to change some membership criteria, in order to give emerging markets a stronger voice at IOSCO, in keeping with their increasing importance in global capital markets.
“We believe this structure is optimal,” said IOSCO chair, Greg Medcraft. “It will increase the representation of our emerging markets members while also ensuring that 80% of world markets are represented and ensuring we maintain regional balance.”
Medcraft, Wetston and Singh will also lead a new committee that is charged with developing a proposal for a new fund to help finance its work on meeting the capacity building needs of emerging market jurisdictions; and, it will work on establishing the IOSCO Foundation, and developing proposals to direct private sector donations directly to its members.