Greg Medcraft, chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has taken over as chairman of the board of International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). He replaces Masamichi Kono of the Japanese FSA.
The Board also elected Ontario Securities Commission Chairman Howard I. Wetston as IOSCO vice chair following the retirement of Ethiopis Tafara.
Medcraft said he would focus on engagement with members and stakeholders, cooperation across IOSCO membership and with the industry and standard-setting during his term as chair.
“I am delighted to be appointed chair of IOSCO and I salute and thank Masa Kono for his leadership of IOSCO,” Medcraft says. “Under my stewardship, I want to build on Mr. Kono’s work and ensure IOSCO is proactive and forward-looking in delivering three objectives – working to ensure that globally investors are confident and informed, markets are fair and efficient and reducing systemic risk.”
The appointment was made during the IOSCO board’s meeting in Sydney in March. During the meeting, new members joined the organization including the Union of Arab Securities Authorities (UASA), the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA).
During the meeting, the board discussed the work of the G20 and Financial Stability Board to govern the world’s financial markets. Members assessed the collective impact of the various measures globally to regulate OTC derivatives in an effort to strengthen the final outcome and avoid unintended consequences. They also discussed IOSCO’s work to identify non-bank systemically important financial institutions (non-bank SIFIs), covering market intermediaries, asset managers and hedge funds. They recognized that “entities in the securities space were considerably different and some of them, like many funds, had shock-absorbing features which reduced rather than exacerbated systemic risk,” according to a statement.
The board urged IOSCO members to sign the organization’s multilateral memorandum of understanding (MMoU) on cooperation and exchange of information. The Reserve Bank of Malawi recently signed the MMoU, bringing the total number of signatories to 94, representing around 95% of the world’s securities markets.
The board also agreed to establish a task force on cross-border regulation and a new standing committee on investor education and protection. The Task Force on Cross Border Regulation will help policy makers and member regulators in addressing the challenges they face in regulating cross-border activity. The Committee on Investor Education and Protection will have a broad mandate to lead IOSCO’s work on retail investor education and protection.
Prior to the meeting, the IOSCO board and financial services executives from Australia, Asia, Europe and North America held a roundtable to discuss emerging risks. The participants were concerned about possible unintended consequences of securities regulation and other policy measures, particularly on emerging markets, according to IOSCO.
Potential risks raised included the global imbalances caused by capital flows, weaknesses in financial market infrastructure, high-frequency trading, market fragmentation and cyber-attacks. Board members also pointed out the potential risks of the current low-interest rate environment. The participants also noted that a sudden upward spike in interest rates could damage global economic growth.
Medcraft of ASIC Appointed IOSCO Chair, Outlines Upcoming Objectives
Greg Medcraft, chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has taken over as chairman of the board of International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). He replaces Masamichi Kono of the Japanese FSA.