Following its annual meeting in Budapest this week, the board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has agreed to develop a “support framework” to help regulators determine how best to address the domestic and cross-border issues stemming from initial coin offerings that could impact investor protection, IOSCO announced on Thursday.

The IOSCO board also made progress on protecting retail investors from the risks posed by binary options and other over-the-counter (OTC) leveraged products, particularly involving offshore, unlicensed firms.

“Members discussed enforcement practices found to be effective in mitigating the risks of these products to unsophisticated retail investors,” IOSCO says in a news release. The board also reviewed proposed measures to help members regulate retail leveraged OTC products.

In addition, the board agreed to launch a “Fintech Network” to facilitate securities regulators sharing information, knowledge, and experiences, in this emerging area; and, to facilitate collaboration on regulatory issues, trends, and emerging risks.

In terms of financial stability, the umbrella group of global securities regulators

  • considered efforts to identify idiosyncratic risks that may arise from ETF structures;
  • reviewed efforts on measuring leverage in investment funds; and
  • endorsed a proposal to assess the implementation of money market fund (MMF) reforms against IOSCO’s post-crisis recommendations in this area.

On the question of sustainability issues, the board agreed to establish an information-sharing network among members to “gain insight into the issues around sustainability, including the details of issuer disclosure and its relevance to investor decision making,” IOSCO says.

Board members also discussed how forthcoming new European data protection rules could impact their information sharing and cross-border cooperation arrangements.

Five regulators have signed onto its enhanced multilateral memorandum of understanding (EMMoU), which was introduced last year, and expands the range of enforcement powers that regulators under this protocol, IOSCO announced. “These powers were introduced in light of the new enforcement challenges spawned by growing cross-border activity and far-reaching technological developments in securities markets,” it says.

The EMMoU signatories include the British Columbia Securities Commission, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.