Financial Trade Associations and Multilevel Regulations

Abstract

Financial market activity is increasingly international. Financial regulation involves complex issues of regulatory jurisdiction, in which jurisdiction is allocated horizontally between authorities in different territorial areas, and vertically between authorities at different hierarchical levels within states, and at the supranational levels. Financial trade associations (FTAs) uses two rhetorical strategies that tend to promote the interests of their members and which work against the interests of consumers. The first of these strategies is "market protection rhetoric". The FTAs' other routine strategy relies on "harmonization rhetoric", which is invoked in the context of domestic regulatory action. This chapter discusses evolving arrangements for consultation of stakeholders in multilevel financial regulation. Multilevel financial regulation involves very high levels of participation by groups that represent the interests of financial firms, but much lower levels of participation by groups that represent the interests of consumers of financial services. Keywords:financial trade associations (FTA); harmonization rhetoric; market protection rhetoric; multilevel financial regulation