The Tribune

The Securities Commission of the Bahamas (the Commission) joined nine other regulators in Luxembourg last week to become a new signatory to the International Organisation of Securities Commissions’ (IOSCO) Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU).

This agreement relates to consultation and co-operation between securities regulators, and the exchange of information. The ceremony was held during IOSCO’s 38th annual conference.

The Commission’s chairman, Tonya Bastian -Galanis, attended the conference and signed the agreement at the ceremony.

“It is an accomplishment for any securities regulator to be so recognised for its commitment to the principles enshrined in IOSCO’s MMoU,” said Mrs Bastian-Galanis.

“We hope that a clear message is sent to the world of the quality and strength of our financial services regulatory regime. It is another step in our earnest commitment to positioning the Bahamas as a leading financial centre, and echoes the message that the Bahamas is open for business.”

The IOSCO MMoU is the key global reference point for securities regulation. It now has 97 signatories out of 125 eligible IOSCO members.

Cross-border cooperation has increased significantly in recent years as the number of signatories to the MMoU has grown. This has resulted in greater numbers of investigations of cross-border offenders, including insider traders and fraudsters. 
IOSCO says annual requests for assistance more than quadrupled from 2006 to 2012, the number growing from 520 to 2,374 over the same period.

IOSCO places great importance on all of its members being signatories to the MMoU, which was established in 2002.

“As long as jurisdictions remain outside the international enforcement regime of the MMoU, they offer potential safe havens for wrong doers and create gaps in IOSCO’s global enforcement network,” said IOSCO last week.