Part I International Capital Markets in Context, 3 International Organizations and the Capital Markets

Abstract

This chapter examines the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). Over the nearly four decades of its existence, as its composition and roles evolved, and in the absence of any other body, IOSCO became a focal point for oversight of international capital markets. Crises, first the regional Asian financial crisis of 1997–98 and then the global financial crisis, have dramatically changed IOSCO. Crises have also thrust capital markets into the international limelight, and led to the appearance of new international institutions, including the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB). Unlike IOSCO, both the FSF and the FSB were political initiatives. As such, they also drew into their orbit formal treaty organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and The World Bank, among others. The chapter then looks at international financial institutions and the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP).