IOSCO members report high level of implementation for Regulator’s Principles

On 15 February 2023, IOSCO issued a press release on the publication of the IOSCO Standards Implementation Monitoring (ISIM) for Principles (1-5) Relating to the Regulator, informing about the findings of the AC on the implementation of IOSCO’s first five principles of the IOSCO Principles Relating to the Regulator across most of the participating member jurisdictions.
Indeed, these five Principles are part of IOSCO’s Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation, which provide core elements of an essential regulatory framework for securities regulations. The Principles establish the desirable attributes of a independent and accountable regulator with appropriate powers & resources, essential to ensuring the achievement of the three core objectives of securities regulation:
• investor protection;
• fair, efficient, and transparent markets; and
• systemic risk reduction.
The main objective of the present review is to present a global overview of the status of implementation of each of the five Principles by the participating member jurisdictions, based on their self-assessments, and aims to identify gaps in implementation as well as examples of good practices. The first 5 Principles are the following:
Principle 1 – The responsibilities of the regulator should be clear and objectively stated.
Principle 2 – The regulator should be operationally independent and accountable in the exercise of its functions and powers.
Principle 3 – The regulator should have adequate powers, proper resources and the capacity to perform its functions and exercise its powers.
Principle 4 – The regulator should adopt a clear and consistent regulatory processes.
Principle 5 – The staff of the regulator should observe the highest professional standards, including appropriate standards of confidentiality.
The present review found that the implementation of Principles 1-5 is generally high across most of the participating member jurisdictions. The review noted that a variety of different approaches to implementation have been observed and several good practices and examples have been provided in the report. Gaps in implementation have been observed mostly in nascent and emerging market jurisdictions.