US SEC – next steps toward mutual recognition

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25 Mar 2008

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has announced a series of actions it intends to take to further the implementation of the concept of mutual recognition for high-quality regulatory regimes in other countries.

Click for SEC Announcement (PDF 38k). Here is an overview:

The Commission contemplates taking the following actions:

  • Exploring initial agreements with one or more foreign regulatory counterparts, which would be based upon a comparability assessment by the SEC and by the foreign authority of one another's regulatory regimes.
  • Considering adoption of a formal process for engaging other national regulators on the subject of mutual recognition. This process could be accomplished through rulemaking or other appropriate mechanisms, possibly informed by one or more initial agreements with other regulators.
  • Developing a framework for mutual recognition discussions with jurisdictions comprising multiple securities regulators tied together by a common legal framework, including Canada (which has no national securities regulator, but rather provincial regulators) and the European Union (whose national securities regulators are subject to supranational legislation and directives).
  • Proposing reforms to Rule 15a-6 in order to improve the process by which US investors have access to foreign broker-dealers.

 

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