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IOSCO was born in 1983 from the transformation of its ancestor inter-American regional association (created in 1974) into a truly international cooperative body. Eleven securities regulatory agencies from North and South America gathered in Quito, Ecuador in April 1983 to take that important decision.
In 1984, securities regulators from France, Indonesia, Korea and the United Kingdom were the first agencies to join the membership from outside the Americas. The IOSCO July 1986 Paris Annual Conference was the first to take place outside of the American continents. On that occasion a decision was made to create a permanent General Secretariat for the Organization.
Today IOSCO is recognized as the international standard setter for securities markets. The Organization's wide membership regulates more than 90% of the world's securities markets and IOSCO is the world's most important international cooperative forum for securities regulatory agencies. IOSCO members regulate more than one hundred jurisdictions and the Organization's membership is steadily growing.
IOSCO adopted in 1998 a comprehensive set of Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation (IOSCO Principles), which are today recognized as the international regulatory benchmarks for all securities markets. The Organization endorsed in 2003 a comprehensive methodology (IOSCO Principles Assessment Methodology) that enables an objective assessment of the level of implementation of the IOSCO Principles in the jurisdictions of its members and the development of practical action plans to correct identified deficiencies.
In 2002 IOSCO adopted a multilateral memorandum of understanding (IOSCO MOU) designed to facilitate cross-border enforcement and exchange of information among the international community of securities regulators.
2005 was a landmark year for IOSCO. The Organization endorsed the IOSCO MOU as the benchmark for international cooperation among securities regulators and set-out clear strategic objectives to rapidly expand the network of IOSCO MOU signatories by 2010. It approved as an unambiguous operational priority the effective implementation - in particular within its wide membership - of the IOSCO Principles and of the IOSCO MOU, which are considered as primary instruments to facilitate cross-border cooperation, reduce global systemic risk, protect investors and ensure fair and efficient securities markets. IOSCO also adopted a comprehensive consultation policy designed to facilitate its continuous interaction with the international financial community and in particular with the industry.
IOSCO provides comprehensive technical assistance to its members, in particular those which regulate emerging securities markets.
The member agencies currently assembled together in the International Organization of Securities Commissions have resolved, through its permanent structures:
- to cooperate together to promote high standards of regulation in order to maintain just, efficient and sound markets;
- to exchange information on their respective experiences in order to promote the development of domestic markets;
- to unite their efforts to establish standards and an effective surveillance of international securities transactions;
- to provide mutual assistance to promote the integrity of the markets by a rigorous application of the standards and by effective enforcement against offenses.
The current Secretary General of the IAIS is Mr. Greg Tanzer with Mr. Tajinder Singh, acting as Deputy Secretary General.
The Presidents' Committee, which meets once a year during the Annual Conference, is made up of all the Presidents of member (regular and associate) agencies and has all the powers necessary or convenient to achieve the purpose of the Organization.
The Executive Committee is presently composed of the following 19 members: the Chairmen of the Technical and Emerging Markets Committees, the Chairmen of each Regional Committee, 1 ordinary member elected by each Regional Committee from among the ordinary members of that region, and 9 ordinary members elected by the Presidents' Committee. The Executive Committee meets periodically during the year and, subject to the By-Laws of the Organization, takes all decisions and undertake all actions necessary or convenient to achieve the objectives of the Organization. Ms. Jane Diplock, Chairperson of the Securities Commission of New Zealand, is currently Chairperson of the Executive Committee.
IOSCO has the following four Regional Standing Committees, which meet to discuss specific regional problems of the members of the Organization that constitute them: the Africa / Middle-East Regional Committee, the Asia-Pacific Regional Committee, the European Regional Committee and the Interamerican Regional Committee.
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