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ProfessionalsPublicatiesInternationale berichtenArchief internationale berichtenIOSCO press release

 

IOSCO press release

IOSCO press release

Originele persbericht:

IOSCO Technical Committee Outlines Action Plan to Strengthen Capital Markets Against Financial Fraud, Reports on Progress to Develop a Code of Conduct for Credit Rating Agencies, and Issues Principles on Client Identification and Beneficial Ownership for the Securities Industry

(Amman, Jordan) In February 2004, the Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions formed a special Chairmen's Task Force to organize and coordinate IOSCO's response to recent high-profile incidents of securities fraud and market abuse.  This Task Force, under the joint chairmanship of Commissioner Roel C. Campos of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Chairman Lamberto Cardia of the Italian Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa, has focused on certain areas of concern, including:

  1. Corporate governance and the role of independent directors;
  2. Auditor oversight and the effectiveness of audit standards;
  3. Regulatory oversight;
  4. The use of complex corporate structures, such as "special purpose vehicles" and complex shareholding structures;
  5. The role of market intermediaries and market "gatekeepers," such as investment banks and broker-dealers, in modern securities markets;
  6. The role of private-sector information analysts, such as securities analysts and credit rating agencies, in modern securities markets; and,
  7. Offshore financial centers.

The Task Force's fact-finding exercise to date indicates that, in many cases, the issues implicated in recent financial scandals are adequately addressed by ongoing IOSCO work and by various international regulatory standards and best practices, such as IOSCO's Principles on Auditor Oversight and Auditor Independence.  In a few areas, particularly relating to bond issuance disclosure and offshore financial centers, the Task Force believes additional principles or best practices may be necessary to deal with potential weaknesses in the international financial system.

The Task Force is preparing a final report analyzing the issues of concern and recommending projects designed to assess and improve implementation of existing regulatory principles or develop new principles, as appropriate. The Technical Committee intends to share the report among IOSCO members and with the Financial Stability Forum in order to help financial regulators identify possible weaknesses in the international financial regulatory system, improve implementation of existing standards, and enhance regulatory risk identification and assessment.

The Technical Committee is releasing the attached issues paper at the conclusion of its meeting at the IOSCO Annual Conference in Amman, Jordan, in the interest of improving public awareness of IOSCO's work in areas vital to improving investor protection in global financial markets.  Andrew Sheng, Chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and Chairman of the IOSCO Technical Committee, noted:

The IOSCO Technical Committee is committed to addressing recent high-profile incidents of international securities fraud and corporate governance failures. Our special Task Force has made excellent progress in analyzing the issues raised by these events and, going forward, we will develop vigorous and robust regulatory responses.

Also during its Annual Conference in Amman, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as head of a special Chairmen's Task Force, reported on the progress of the group in developing a Code of Conduct for Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) designed to address many of the concerns raised by this industry and the role it plays in modern financial markets.

Mr. Roel Campos, Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, stated:

Credit rating agencies play an extremely important role in how global capital markets function. However, like many other important actors in today's markets, recent financial scandals, rightly or wrongly, have raised questions about how rating agencies ensure the quality and integrity of the rating process, how they address potential conflicts of interest, and how investors can be able to compare the 'track records' of different rating agencies when assessing how much weight to give a particular rating.  The Code of Conduct for Credit Rating Agencies, which the Chairmen's Task Force is currently developing, will be designed to address each of these concerns.

The proposed Code of Conduct will follow the general structure of the Technical Committee's Statement of Principles Regarding the Activities of Credit Rating Agencies, published by the Technical Committee in October 2003.  The Principles laid out high-level objectives that rating agencies, regulators, issuers and other market participants should strive toward to improve investor protection and the fairness, efficiency and transparency of securities markets and reduce systemic risk.

Following publication of the CRA Principles, a number of securities regulators and rating agencies suggested that more specific and detailed guidance on how the Principles should be implemented in practice would be useful. This guidance would serve as a code of conduct for CRAs, thereby helping ensure that a converged standard of CRA conduct existed throughout the world, irrespective of market circumstances and legal and regulatory structures. 

The Chairmen's CRA Task Force met in Rome in late April to discuss the details of a proposed draft of the Code of Conduct. The Task Force plans to seek comment from the credit rating agency industry and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in June. The Task Force will also seek broader comment from the public (including issuers and investors) as well as interested governments in July or August. The Task Force plans to complete the Code of Conduct by September 2004.

Client and beneficial owner identification is central to achieve the principal objectives of securities regulation: the protection of investors; ensuring the markets are fair, efficient and transparent; and the prevention of the illegal use of the securities industry. Given the importance of effective client identification processes, and complementing the work of the Financial Action Task Force regarding its newly revised Forty Recommendations  to combat money laundering, the Technical Committee at this conference has adopted a statement of Principles on Client Identification and Beneficial Ownership for the Securities Industry (May 2004).  Jonathan Davis, President of Mexico's Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV) and Chairman of the IOSCO Task Force that produced this statement of principles commented on their publication:

These principles address key issues that have an impact over the whole spectrum of securities regulation. It is essential that the true identity of market users be established through adequate client identification processes that are based on comprehensive information and records.

IOSCO, based in Madrid, Spain, is the primary forum for international cooperation among securities regulators and is recognized as the international standard-setter for the securities sector. IOSCO currently has 171 members from more than one hundred jurisdictions.

For additional information, please contact:

Mr. Philippe Richard
Secretary General
Tel: (34 91) 417 55 49
Fax: (34 91) 555 93 68
E-mail: mail@oicv.iosco.org