The task force has been established in consultation with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). It has been set up to survey securitisation markets with the aim of understanding how they are evolving in different parts of the world, identify factors that may be hindering the development of sustainable securitisation markets, assess whether there are factors inhibiting the participation of investors, particularly non-bank investors, and develop criteria to identify and assist in the development of simple and transparent securitisation structures.

Securitisation played a significant role in the American subprime mortgage crises which led to the financial crisis. The regulators reacted with different measures to the financial crisis (IFRS 9 Financial instruments expected to be issued in its completed version later this month was the IASB's response to the crisis to improve the accounting for financial instruments), and the work of the task force is designed to determine how the measures have influenced the developments in securitisation markets since the crisis and how the development of orderly and sustainable securitisation markets, which could provide an alternative source of funding for economic activity and recovery, can be supported.

To this end, the task force has developed a questionnaire to seek the views of market participants. Among other questions, participants are asked in the survey for their assessment of the developments in securities markets, whether accounting changes have helped or hindered development in these markets and whether they believe that further accounting changes could lead to an increased activity in them.

The questionnaire and a corresponding press release are available on the IOSCO website. The questionnaire should be completed by 25 July 2014.