OSC, AMF and SEC sign regulatory co-operation agreement

Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Author: Investment Executive

Securities regulators from Ontario, Quebec and the United States have signed a memorandum of understanding designed to bolster cross-border supervision.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Autorité des marchés financiers, and the Ontario Securities Commission, announced the signing on Monday.

The agreement facilitates supervision of regulated firms that operate across the U.S.-Canadian border. The regulators say that the new agreement extends their historical co-operation beyond enforcement to the day-to-day supervision and oversight of regulated firms.

The agreement provides a mechanism for consultation, cooperation, and exchange of information among the SEC, AMF and OSC, and it sets forth the terms and conditions for the sharing of information about firms, such as broker-dealers and investment advisers, which operate in the U.S., Quebec and Ontario.

The MOU, which was signed in Montreal on June 10 after the close of the annual conference of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, is the first comprehensive supervisory agreement to be signed by the SEC since the start of the financial crisis. It already has comprehensive supervisory MOUs with the securities regulators in the UK, Germany and Australia.

“Our organizations share a strong commitment to overseeing the markets and protecting investors. This agreement will help us to fulfill our roles by giving us access to needed information,” said SEC chairman, Mary Schapiro.

AMF president and CEO, Jean St-Gelais said, “Since our markets have become so interrelated and given the impact of the recent financial crisis, this MOU is an important step in ensuring that our markets are safe and that our investors are protected by optimum cooperation between the SEC and the AMF and OSC. It is essential that entities operating across borders be effectively regulated, and this cannot be achieved without the co-operation envisioned by this MOU.”

OSC Chairman David Wilson said the agreement, “will further enhance the effectiveness of our co-operative activities which are essential for regulators to prevent financial harm and protect investors.”