The Governance And Regulation Of International Finance

ÔThe publication of this book could hardly be more timely; it fills a gap in present-day discussion of the reasons for the recent ongoing financial crises, and who was responsible. The balance between the governance and regulation of the international finance market underpins how securely we proceed into the future. At a time when sovereign defaults dominate public discussion, this issue is of quintessential importance. The editors are to be congratulated for this important publication.Õ Ð Christoph Paulus, Humbolt University of Berlin, Germany This thought-provoking book adds a new perspective to the analysis of how regulation should respond to the global financial crisis of 2008Ð2009. It focuses on the ÔprivateÕ as opposed to ÔpublicÕ aspect of regulation, and highlights the works of the publicÐprivate dialectic in regulation and enforcement. The expert authors examine what is perhaps the single most important sector in which public and private regulation and enforcement intersect: the arena of banking and global finance. The detailed analysis of these particular areas of finance thus provides a means for investigating aspects of the important topic of private regulation and enforcement in financial markets. A number of pertinent questions are addressed, including: How does private regulation and enforcement enhance or detract from the legitimacy of the process by which these market segments are managed and controlled? How does private regulation and enforcement manifest independence of action and judgment, as compared with public regulation? How does private regulation and enforcement measure up along dimensions of quality, relative to public regulation? and, finally, What forms of accountability characterize private as opposed to public regulation and enforcement? Illustrating the works of the publicÐprivate dialectic in regulation and enforcement, this challenging book will prove a fascinating read for academics, scholars and practitioners with an interest in regulation and governance issues, and in financial and banking law.

Analyses governance structures for international finance, evaluates current regulatory reforms and proposes a new governance system for global financial markets.

Big banks are capable of wreaking havoc on the global economy, and governments have often felt powerless to stop them. Regulators have responded by developing coordinated programs to handle banks, insurers, broker dealers, shadow banks and other businesses that can blow up in a crisis. This program began informally and undemocratically, and has developed into something much more organized, formalized and predictable, even though it has never been legally enforceable. David Zaring examines the realities of the current international financial system and concludes that in fact this is a well-ordered and functioning regulatory environment: the international financial system enjoys a substantial degree of compliance, and operates predictably and harmoniously. As a result, perhaps this could serve as a paradigm for future global governance. Zaring explores three aspects of international financial regulation that can inform global governance: harmonization through rules, cooperation on enforcement and agreement on fundamental principles.

The book sets forth the economic rationale for international financial regulation and what role, if any, international regulation can play in effectively managing systemic risk while providing accountability to all affected nations. The book suggests that a particular type of global governance structure is necessary to have more efficient regulation of the international financial system.

Financial regulation has entered into a new era, as many foundational economic theories and policies supporting the existing infrastructure have been and are being questioned following the financial crisis. Goodhart et al’s seminal monograph "Financial Regulation: Why, How and Where Now?" (Routledge:1998) took stock of the extent of financial innovation and the maturity of the financial services industry at that time, and mapped out a new regulatory roadmap. This book offers a timely exploration of the "Why, How and Where Now" of financial regulation in the aftermath of the crisis in order to map out the future trajectory of financial regulation in an age where financial stability is being emphasised as a key regulatory objective. The book is split into four sections: the objectives and regulatory landscape of financial regulation; the regulatory regime for investor protection; the regulatory regime for financial institutional safety and soundness; and macro-prudential regulation. The discussion ranges from theoretical and policy perspectives to comprehensive and critical consideration of financial regulation in the specifics. The focus of the book is on the substantive regulation of the UK and the EU, as critical examination is made of the unravelling and the future of financial regulation with comparative insights offered where relevant especially from the US. Running throughout the book is consideration of the relationship between financial regulation, financial stability and the responsibility of various actors in governance. This book offers an important contribution to continuing reflections on the role of financial regulation, market discipline and corporate responsibility in the financial sector, and upon the roles of regulatory authorities, markets and firms in ensuring the financial health and security of all in the future.

Why have financial standards and institutions almost always failed to effectively predict and respond to real-world financial crises? The answer, this challenging book shows, is that international financial law suffers from a persistent lack of judicial or quasi-judicial enforcement mechanisms, leaving flaws in the structure of the international financial system that lead inevitably to excesses that threaten the public good of global financial stability. The author, an internationally renowned legal expert on financial and fiscal reforms, responds to the increasingly urgent call for rethinking the structure and the functioning of international financial law. Centering on the concept of enforcement – which continues to be an unresolved issue in the discipline of international financial law – the analysis describes the likely contours of hard-law regulatory reform. It weighs the pros and cons of much-talked-about regulatory and policy issues like the following and more: – policy implications from the transformation of finance from a domestic to an international concept; – new or revised supervisory and regulatory bodies with redefined mandate, jurisdictions and powers; – possibility of a treaty-based structure similar to the European Union’s integration framework; and – consolidation of crisis-prevention and crisis-management policies; The analysis takes into account instances from trade and monetary systems pertinent to the development of the discipline of international financial law. A concluding chapter explores possibilities for putting in place an asset-backed resilient financial system based on risk-sharing and empowered to legislate reform and authorized to seek compliance from its members. With its provision of unconventional alternatives for further development of international financial law to realize stable, predictable and robust international markets – including early-warning systems and fully primed crisis-prevention mechanisms – the book explores the essential link between global financial stability, effective regulation and institutional development that will engender realistic global policy solutions. It will prove to be of great importance to regulatory and legal practitioners as well as to academic and think-tank scholars.

From the vantage point of the key powers in global finance including the United States, the European Union, Japan, and China, this highly accessible book brings together leading scholars to examine current changes in international financial regulation. They assess whether the flurry of ambitious initiatives to improve and strengthen international financial regulation signals an important turning point in the regulation of global finance. The text: Examines the kinds of international reforms have been implemented to date and patterns of international regulatory change. Provides an analysis of change across a number of financial sectors, including the regulation of hedge funds, derivatives, credit rating agencies, accounting, and banks. Offers an explanation of contemporary regulatory developments with reference to inter-state power dynamics, domestic politics, transgovernmental networks, and/or transnational non-state forces. Providing the first systematic analysis of the international regulatory response to the current global financial crisis, this ground-breaking volume is vital reading for students and scholars of international political economy, international relations, global governance, finance and economics.

The globalisation of financial markets has attracted much academic and policymaking commentary in recent years, especially with the growing number of banking and financial crises and the current credit crisis that has threatened the stability of the global financial system. This major new Research Handbook sets out to address some of the fundamental issues in financial regulation from a comparative and international perspective and to identify some of the main research themes and approaches that combine economic, legal and institutional analysis of financial markets. Specially commissioned contributions represent diverse viewpoints on the financial regulation debate and cover a number of new and controversial topics not yet adequately addressed in the literature. Specifically, these include; financial innovation particularly in the context of the credit risk transfer market, securitization and the systemic importance of the over-the-counter trading markets; the institutional structure of international financial regulation; and risk management and corporate governance of financial institutions. This Handbook will provide a unique and fully up-to-date resource for all those with an interest in this critical issue including academic researchers in finance and regulation, practitioners working in the industry and those involved with regulation and policy.