International Organization of Securities Commissions

International financial regulatory body

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is an association of organizations that regulate the world's securities and futures markets. Members are typically primary securities and/or futures regulators in a national jurisdiction or the main financial regulator from each country. Its mandate is to:
Develop, implement, and promote high standards of regulation to enhance investor protection and reduce systemic risk
Share information with exchanges and assist them with technical and operational issues
Establish standards toward monitoring global investment transactions across borders and markets

IOSCO has members from over 100 countries, who regulate more than 95% of the world's securities markets. It has a permanent secretariat in Madrid, Spain. IOSCO members are divided into three main categories:

Ordinary members: primary securities and/or futures markets regulators in a jurisdiction. A stock exchange or self regulatory organization may be an ordinary member, but only if it is the jurisdiction's primary securities regulator. Each ordinary member has one vote. Associate members: other securities and/or futures regulators in cases where there's more than one per jurisdiction. For example, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the North American Securities Administrators Association in the United States are associate members of IOSCO given that the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission is the ordinary member from the United States. Associate members have no vote and are not eligible for the Executive Committee; they are, however, members of the Presidents' Committee. Affiliate members: include stock exchanges, self regulatory organizations, and various stock market industry associations. Affiliate members have no vote, are not eligible for the Executive Committee, and are not members of the Presidents' Committee. Affiliate members that are self regulatory organizations (SROs), are, however, members of the SRO Consultative Committee.

The organization is made up of a number of committees that meet several times a year at locations around the world supported by a permanent administrative General Secretariat.

Administratively, IOSCO is run by a General Secretariat based in Madrid, Spain. IOSCO's current Secretary General is Paul P. Andrews, who started his renewable three year term in March 2016. Previously, he served as the Vice President and Managing Director of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) a self regulatory organization in the United States. The IOSCO Board is IOSCO's governing and standard setting body. It is composed of 33 securities regulators; Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission CEO Ashley Ian Alder is the IOSCO Board Chair (he also chairs the Asia Pacific Regional Committee). He is supported by two Vice Chairs, Ranjit Ajit Singh, Chair of the Securities Commission Malaysia (who chairs the Growth and Emerging Markets Committee, IOSCO's largest sub committee) and Jean Paul Servais, Chair of Belgium's Financial Services and Markets Authority (who chairs the European Regional Committee as well).

IOSCO is a member of, participates as an observer in, or coordinates with a number of other organizations. One of its most important relationships is with the Joint Forum of international financial regulators. IOSCO, along with the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, make up the Joint Forum. The IOSCO MOUs are considered the primary instruments to facilitate cross border cooperation, reduce global systemic risk, protect investors, and ensure fair and efficient securities markets. Additionally, IOSCO is a member of, participates as an observer in, or coordinates with a number of other international organizations, including the OECD, FSB, Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, IASB, PIOB, IMF, World Bank, and European Commission.