News

Commission becomes signatory to IOSCO Enhanced Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding

28th May 2024
Photo of William Mason signing the EMMoU at IOSCO ceremony

The Commission has today formally become a signatory of IOSCO’s Enhanced Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (EMMoU).  It becomes the sixteenth regulator to be permitted to become a signatory, after a rigorous multi-year evaluation process overseen by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The EMMoU was designed by IOSCO (The International Organization of Securities Commissions[1]) to update information exchange between regulators taking into account the vast advances in information technology since the first IOSCO Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding was created in 2002[2]

Being permitted to sign this international agreement is a sign that the quality of the Bailiwick’s regulation is considered, by Guernsey’s peers, to be high.

Commenting on the accession to the EMMoU, Director General William Mason commented, “The Commission believes that its accession to the EMMoU should give comfort to other jurisdictions thereby helping to enhance Guernsey’s position as an optimal jurisdiction from which to gather and onward invest funds.

I’d particularly like to thank HM Comptroller, Robert Titterington and Director of Enforcement, Simon Gaudion for their tireless work, managing the demanding enquiries made by the external evaluation team over an extended period.”

Co-Deputy Director General Gillian Browning added, “Our inclusion as a first-class signatory of the EMMoU (one of only 16 Appendix A.1 signatories) should help ensure that our overseas counterparts can have confidence in the Bailiwick’s regulatory framework, thereby facilitating free trade.”

 

[1] IOSCO's membership regulates more than 95% of the world's securities markets in some 130 jurisdictions. By providing high quality technical assistance, education and training, IOSCO supports its members to come together to achieve the following three objectives. 

  • Enhance investor protection;
  • Ensure markets are fair and efficient;
  • Promote financial stability by reducing systemic risk.

[2] Please see https://www.iosco.org/about/?subSection=emmou for further details of the importance attached to the EMMoU.