International Organization of Securities Commissions

The key objectives of the International Organization of Securities Commissions are to protect investors, ensure fair, efficient and transparent markets, prevent systemic risk, promote international cooperation, and define uniform standards for stock market and securities admission. FINMA is a long-standing member of this organisation.
The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) was founded in 1974 as a pan-American organisation and has been open to global membership since 1983. The organisation has over 200 members, consisting of ordinary and associate members (the majority of which are supervisory bodies) and affiliate members (mainly stock exchanges). FINMA (or its predecessor, the Federal Banking Commission) has been an ordinary member since 1996. The IOSCO headquarters are located in Madrid.

IOSCO's supreme body is the Presidents Committee (PC), the executive body of the IOSCO Board. It governs the permanent Committees (Committees) and ad hoc task forces for special projects. Local issues are dealt with in the four regional committees. Finally, the Affiliate Members Consultative Committee (AMCC), whose membership consists mainly of stock exchanges, fosters ongoing dialogue with practising professionals in the securities markets.

As an ordinary IOSCO member, FINMA actively participates in meetings held by the IOSCO Board and the European Regional Committee. It is also represented on the various committees and task forces relevant to Switzerland.

Objectives and principles of securities regulation

IOSCO defined its "Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation", a set of 38 principles on the supervision of securities trading. The organisation's key objective is to implement these principles.