Financial crises are traditionally analyzed as purely economic phenomena. The political economy of financial booms and busts remains both under-emphasized and limited to isolated episodes. This paper examines the political economy of financial policy during ten of the most infamous financial booms and busts since the 18th century, and presents consistent evidence of pro-cyclical regulatory policies by governments. Financial booms, and risk-taking during these episodes, were often amplified by political regulatory stimuli, credit subsidies, and an increasing light-touch approach to financial supervision. The regulatory backlash that ensues from financial crises can only be understood in the context of the deep political ramifications of these crises. Post-crisis regulations do not always survive the following boom. The interplay between politics and financial policy over these cycles deserves further attention. History suggests that politics can be the undoing of macro-prudential regulations.
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This Technical Assistance report examines regulation of market abuse and issuer disclosure requirements in Ukraine. The Ukrainian regulatory framework for market abuse and issuer disclosure requirements has significant gaps, whose impact is compounded by the National Securities and Stock Market Commission’s (NSSMC) lack of sufficient supervisory, investigative, and enforcement powers. This has contributed to overall lack of transparency and widespread misconduct in the market, including through issuance and trading of “fictitious” securities. To address the current challenges, the Ukrainian legislation needs to be aligned with the international standards to provide the NSSMC with sufficient means to require enhanced disclosures and combat market abuse.
Capital markets can improve risk sharing and the efficiency with which capital is allocated to the real economy, boosting economic growth and welfare. However, despite these potential benefits, not all countries have well developed capital markets. Moreover, government-led initiatives to develop local capital markets have had mixed success. This paper reviews the literature on the benefits and costs of developing local capital markets, and describes the challenges faced in the development of such markets. The paper concludes with a set of policy recommendations emerging from this literature.
Stock markets play a key role in corporate financing in Asia. However, despite their increasing importance in terms of size and cross-border investment activity, the region’s markets are reputed to be more “idiosyncratic” and less reliant on economic and corporate fundamentals in their pricing. Using a model that draws on international asset pricing and economic theory, as well as accounting literature, we find evidence of greater idiosyncratic influences in the pricing of Asia’s stock markets, compared to their G-7 counterparts, beyond the identified systematic factors and local fundamentals. We also show proof of a significant relationship between the strength of implementation of securities regulations and the “noise” in stock pricing, which suggests that improvements in the regulation of securities markets in Asia could enhance the role of stock markets as stable and reliable sources of financing into the future.
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
The article is an account of the assessment of implementation of IOSCO principles of securities and regulations in Malaysia. This assessment was conducted by the International Monetary fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The Securities Commission Malaysia has developed its supervisory network. The rules of the governing bodies such as issuers, auditors, collective investment schemes, and markets have widened their roles. The Executive Board conducted the assessment to ascertain whether the legal securities are able to meet the standards set by the IOSCO.
Israel’s compliance with International Organization of Securities Commissions’ objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation has been assessed. The regulatory regime is well developed and in most respects is comparable with that of major jurisdictions. For the most part, it is compliant with international standards and regulation, and oversight by the Israel Securities Authority is robust and effective. With regard to the regulation of broker dealers, there is a significant gap in the coverage of the regulatory regime.
This paper discusses a detailed assessment report on the observance of China’s compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commission's objectives and principles of securities regulation. The reform of nontradable shares introduced a market-based pricing system for so-called nontradable shares in listed companies closely held by government and semigovernment authorities. The China Securities Regulatory Commission has the ability to share public and nonpublic information with both domestic and foreign counterparts without other external process, for the purpose of performing regulatory and supervisory functions.
This paper highlights key findings of the assessment of financial sector regulation and supervision in the Cayman Islands. The assessment reveals that in the last two years, an extensive program of legislative, rule, and guideline development in the Cayman Islands has introduced an increasingly effective system of regulation, both formalizing earlier practices and introducing enhanced procedures. The implementation of financial regulation and supervision complies broadly with standards in all the areas assessed. However, issues related to resources and potential breaches of operational autonomy affect the regulator and, hence, supervision in all sectors.