The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) opened today the public sessions of its Annual Conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica focusing on the challenges of strengthening market resilience, addressing financial misconduct and financing the real economy through capital markets. Participants also will discuss the role of international standards in securities markets and how regulators can support market development.

In the area of audit quality, the Board discussed potential enhancements to the governance of the international audit standard-setting process that IOSCO helps to oversee. The Board stressed the importance of increasing the independence of the international standard-setting bodies and reinforcing the public interest oversight function of the standard-setting process, with a view to ensuring high-quality international auditing and ethics standards.
In the area of asset management, the Board progressed its initiatives on liquidity risk management of collective investment schemes, aimed at strengthening the resilience of this form of market-based finance. The work also forms part of IOSCO´s efforts to take forward the relevant Financial Stability Board (FSB) recommendations to address potential structural vulnerabilities related to asset management activities.

The Board agreed IOSCO should examine regulatory reforms in derivatives markets to determine whether any aspects of the reforms, while contributing to financial stability, may have had negative, unintended markets effects which may need to be addressed by regulators. The Board also discussed IOSCO´s work with the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures on CCP resilience and recovery issues and on the FSB initiative on CCP resolution.