Financial supervision - Definition and Overview

Financial supervision is government supervision of financial institutions by regulators. The objective is to uphold existing regulations for the financial sector and ultimately to maintain stability of financial markets.

Aims of supervision

The specific aims of financial regulators are usually:

• To minimise financial loss of depositors in banks or policy holders of insurance companies
• To enforce applicable laws
• To prosecute cases of market misconduct, such as insider trading
• To license providers of financial services

Authority by Country

• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), USA
• Financial Services Authority, UK
• Commission des opérations de bourse (COB), France
• China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), People's Republic of China
• Financial Supervisory Authority, Sweden
• Financial Supervisory Authority, Finland (Rahoitustarkastus in Finnish, abbr. RATA)

Australia

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) supervises banks and insurers. Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is responsible for enforcing financial services and corporations laws.

See also

• Bank regulation
• Finance

External links

• Securities Lawyer's Deskbook (http://www.law.uc.edu/CCL/) from the University of Cincinnati College of Law