.jpg)
The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) today published a follow-up Country Review of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which recognizes Pakistan’s efforts to adopt legislative and regulatory reforms aimed at aligning its regulations with international standards in accordance with the IOSCO Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation (IOSCO Principles).
In 2015, IOSCO’s Assessment Committee completed a detailed assessment of the depth and breadth of Pakistan’s implementation of the IOSCO Principles. The 2015 Country Review report identified the country’s progress in meeting international regulatory standards and identified areas in which improvements were needed.
Today’s follow-up report considers the progress made by Pakistan in response to recommendations in the 2015 Country Review and focuses its assessment on the implementation of 14 IOSCO Principles that the 2015 report noted as deficient.
The legislative and regulatory reforms cover a wide range of issues in the regulation of capital markets, including enhancing the statutory powers of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), changing the Pakistan Companies Act, overhauling Securities Broker Regulations, and introducing changes designed to ensure independent oversight of the audit profession. While some reforms address implementation issues noted in the 2015 Review, the follow-up report concludes that effective implementation of most of these changes is still in process. On this basis, the changes made since 2015 have raised the rating for implementation of 10 of the 14 Principles. That is, four Principles that were rated Not Implemented have now been rated Partly or Broadly Implemented; five Principles that were rated Partly Implemented have now been rated Broadly Implemented; and one Partly Implemented Principle is now rated Fully Implemented.
The SECP’s response to the report’s findings was largely positive, and it was encouraged by comments in the follow-up report on their measures taken in response to the 2015 recommendations. The SECP remains committed to developing and implementing reform initiatives consistent with IOSCO Principles and agrees to give due consideration to the follow-up report’s findings regarding effective implementation.
The follow-up Country Review was carried out by a Review Team of five experts from Dubai FSA, Luxembourg CSSF, Saudi Arabia CMA, Turkey CMB and the IOSCO General Secretariat. The Review Team leader was Laurent van Burik of the Luxembourg Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier. The team members collectively brought a range of knowledge and practical expertise to the review exercise.
Created in 2012, the Assessment Committee also conducts Thematic Reviews of specific IOSCO Principles and Standards across IOSCO’s membership. Thematic Reviews aim to provide a snapshot of implementation of the IOSCO Principles and Standards and to help identify gaps, differences in approach and examples of good practice regarding implementation.
