ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has made progress in meeting international regulatory standards, observed the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and identified areas in which improvements are needed.

In its first country review on the SECP, the IOSCO Assessment Committee observed that Pakistan’s regulatory framework has undergone significant improvements in the structure and practice of regulation since 2004, when the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank issued their last Financial Sector Assessment Programme evaluation of the country.

The review assessed Pakistan against IOSCO principles and declared fully compliant on 13 principles, broadly compliant on 10 principles, partially compliant on nine principles, whereas only in case of five principles Pakistan remained non-compliant.

Aggregately, Pakistan has succeeded in complying with about 62 per cent of principles.

The SECP is the first jurisdiction to be assessed by the IOSCO and the assessment provided an opportunity for it to comprehensively review its regulatory and supervisory framework for securities regulation and to engage in a constructive dialogue with the review team on further enhancements to the framework.

According to SECP spokesman, the commission has developed a comprehensive time-bound action plan to implement further reforms in legal, regulatory and supervisory architecture to bring it totally in line with international standards and improve the review ratings further.

Accordingly, reassessment of principle implementation status has also been proposed to the IOSCO which will validate SECP’s progress and graduation and help secure more favourable ratings for Pakistan.

Compliance with the IOSCO principles is significant to safeguard the integrity and credibility of financial system; strengthen legal and regulatory framework; and develop capital markets as a preferred investment choice for both local and foreign investors, the SECP said.

The IOSCO is an international forum for cooperation among securities market regulators and the global standard setter for securities market regulations.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2015

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