The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) issued a report today that details good practices for commodity storage infrastructure firms, organizations that oversee those firms and financial regulators. The report is part of an effort by global securities regulators to enhance the operation of commodity derivatives markets.
IOSCO says that implementing the practices proposed in its report “will lead to a more transparent and robust environment for the physical storage and delivery of commodities, producing benefits for all commodity market participants.”
Today’s report follows previous work from IOSCO, which found “a wide range of practices” in physical storage infrastructure. Practices for oversight, governance, operations and controls were found to vary by commodity, trading venue and jurisdiction. The regulators are concerned that these divergences could affect derivatives pricing, market integrity and efficiency.
The report’s recommendations cover various areas, including oversight, transparency, conflicts of interest, fees and incentives, and operations.
“The overarching objective of the good or sound practices,” the report states, “is to create a framework that incentivizes the market to adopt best practices and self-correction, rather than one that prohibits certain behaviours.”