The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) has proposed a set of rule amendments on Thursday to introduce a principles-based approach, which would give firms more flexibility to develop policies and procedures for trading supervision more tailored to their particular compliance risks.
In a notice outlining the proposals, IIROC says investment industry firms say the existing approach is too prescriptive and outdated and that it should be altered to accommodate changes in current market structure, technological advancements, and the increased sophistication of compliance staff.
The proposals aim to give firms, “greater flexibility in developing policies and procedures and systems of control that better address their particular compliance and supervision risks and the technologies available to them,” the IIROC notice says.
If the proposals were implemented, firms would have to review their current supervision and compliance policies and procedures and change them if necessary to comply with the new regime, the IIROC notice says. The self-regulatory organization also issued proposed new guidance today to accompany the new approach.
The proposals are out for comment until March 22, 2017 and would take effect 180 days after they are finalized and adopted by regulators.
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