Trends in Canadian Securities Regulation: Coming to Terms With Change
Report Summary
Trends in Canadian Securities Regulation: Coming to Terms With Change
Canadian securities regulators face many of the same issues that challenge other nations, but Canada has unique structural characteristics that hamper its ability to promptly implement new regulations.
Boston, February 9, 2012 – A new report from Aite Group examines Canadian securities regulation, provides a review of Canadian regulators’ top concerns, and discusses current regulatory proposals in areas ranging from foreign exchange to over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and from dark pools to electronic trading.
The fragmented, multijurisdictional structure of securities regulation in Canada is hindering the country’s efforts to resolve national issues. Regulators are confronting abusive practices on the part of Internet-based foreign exchange dealers who offer margin accounts and platform access as well as dealers who sell limited partnerships in the prospectus-exempt market. Regulators are also trying to reach an agreement on detailed policy proposals related to complex issues surrounding OTC derivatives, securitized products, dark pools, and electronic trading. Simultaneously, provincial securities commissions are expanding their public-education efforts, improving their risk models, and upgrading their IT systems to support internal operations.
“Canadian securities regulators have forged ahead of their U.S. counterparts in some respects, but in other ways appear to be struggling with changes in the capital markets and the registrant population,” says Philip Lawton, senior analyst with Aite Group and author of this report. “Canada demonstrated leadership in converting to International Financial Reporting Standards, but the nation is at risk of falling behind other jurisdictions in defining, implementing, and enforcing regulations that meet international standards of governance for non-traditional marketplaces, vehicles, and instruments.”
This 30-page Impact Report contains four figures and seven tables. Clients of Aite Group’s Institutional Securities & Investments service can download the report.