A new agreement between the investment industry’s self-regulatory organizations for Quebec and the rest of Canada means discipline imposed by one regulator will automatically generate a review, and possible enforcement action, by the other.

The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Chambre de la sécurité financière (CSF) announced on Thursday the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that aims to improve co-ordination between the two SROs and to bolster their efforts to protect investors in Quebec.

“With the agreement, a disciplinary decision or action taken by one regulator will automatically trigger a review of the sanctioned individual’s activities by the other regulatory organization, which may result in an investigation or other appropriate action,” the two SROs say in a statement.

The agreement between IIROC and the CSF takes effect immediately.IIROC president and CEO, Andrew Kriegler, indicated that the SRO will be seeking these kinds of arrangements with other regulatory agencies, too.”We intend to pursue similar agreements with other organizations to build on this important initiative, which enables greater efficiency and consistency of the supervisory system in the public interest,” he says.

“We are very pleased with this partnership, which will allow us to reinforce our mission to protect investors while enhancing industry efficiency,” adds Marie Elaine Farley, president and CEO of the CSF. “The agreement reflects our commitment to improving our mechanisms for co-operation with other Canadian self-regulatory organizations.”

Photo: Marie Elaine Farley and Andrew Kriegler
Source: IIROC