International developments
In addition to its participation in European Supervisory Authorities on banking, insurance and markets and the European Systemic Risk Board, the Central Bank of Ireland’s supervisory work is also influenced by developments at an international level.
Arising from the financial crisis the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) developed reform programmes to deliver on both “lessons learned” from the crisis and the declarations of the G20 2009 Pittsburgh and 2010 Seoul Summits.
Role of cross sector bodies
Cross sector bodies such as the Financial Stability Board (formerly the Financial Stability Forum), the Joint Forum (comprising BCBS, IOSCO and IAIS), the International Accounting Standards Body (IASB) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development play key roles in shaping and driving the reform agenda. The Central Bank of Ireland is either represented in these bodies or tracks their output.
A key function of these bodies is to develop global regulatory standards and recommendations for the supervision of markets and individual firms. Whilst standards of international bodies are not normally binding, they are generally accepted as international benchmarks or best practice.
Within the EU a wave of legislation is being developed to give effect to the G20 requirements. This involved a major legislative review leading to the creation of new legislation as well as the revision of existing legislation. Basel III is an example of international standards filtering down to national regulatory frameworks with the BASEL III banking standards, which were developed by the BCBS, being proposed for implementation in Europe via CRD IV.