The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) held a meeting this past week of the Growth and Emerging Markets (GEM) Committee. This committee is the largest within IOSCO, representing over 75% of their membership. Ranjit Ajit Singh, Chairman, Securities Commission, Malaysia, and Vice Chair of the IOSCO Board, is the Chair of the GEM. Singh has been a prominent voice in support of alternative finance and, in fact, Malaysia was one of the first countries to create a bespoke regulatory regime for investment crowdfunding in Southeast Asia.
GEM seeks to promote the development and greater efficiency of emerging securities and futures markets by establishing principles and minimum standards, providing training programs and technical assistance for members and facilitating the exchange of information and transfer of technology and expertise.
The event held in Sri Lanka saw the participation of more than 300 participants from 50 different jurisdictions.
While much of the discussion addressed challenges in scaling up sustainable market based financing, including the establishment of a new Task Force, other more current topics were debated.
According to information provided by IOSCO, participants also discussed how Fintech is shaping capital markets and the balance between innovation and investor protection, particularly in areas such as cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs).
There was also a recognition of the need to improve “cyber resilience”. This comes at a time when high profile hackings have seen consumer information stolen and nefarious characters using unpublished EDGAR info to trade on inside information.
While IOSCO revealed few details of the discussion it is interesting to know that global regulators are holding discussions amongst themselves as regulatory questions and issues emerge regarding Fintech in general and, specifically, coin offerings that leverage crypto.