A more uniform transatlantic regulatory regime is a priority for the investment industry, says the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

In a presentation to the Compliance World Conference in London, SIFMA argued that closer alignment of transatlantic financial regulatory systems would benefit investors, regulators and the firms that serve the markets.

The EU-US Coalition, a group of industry bodies from the European Union and the U.S., estimate that true integration of financial markets could lower trading costs on both sides of the Atlantic by 60%, which would in turn lead to a 50% increase in U.S. and E.U. trading volumes.

“The press may be filled with stories about the vast market potential of China and India, but the U.S.-E.U. capital markets remain the most deep, liquid, transparent, and sophisticated in the world,” said Bertrand Huet, SIFMA’s European legal and regulatory counsel and managing director.

“The recent market turmoil demonstrated that, once separated by vast oceans and national boundaries, our capital markets are more interconnected now than ever before,” added Huet.

One of SIFMA’s goals, as a global securities trade association, is to promote and facilitate broader and more efficient global capital markets. It notes that this entails reducing barriers, increasing efficiency of cross-border transactions, and lowering the cost of capital.

“Since the transatlantic financial services market is the major driver of the global market, reducing unnecessary and duplicative regulations there represents a major step forward in producing significant efficiencies for market participants and investors,” it says.