List of Financial Regulators

Before signing up with a broker or getting involved in any type of trading, it is important to ensure that the financial service is properly regulated. What is financial regulation? Financial regulation is providing oversight to a broker or another financial service to ensure that it is providing full transparency to clients and is giving them the services that they promised.

Every country has a financial regulator and professional licensing agency that have specific sets of rules and standards. They provide licensing to brokers, make regular inspections, deal with complaints and ensure that financial markets are transparent and fair. 

If you have been targeted by a crypto scam or a forex scam or are dealing with a broker dispute, you can bring a complaint to the financial regulator. You should also speak to fund recovery services that can present your case and improve your chances of recovering your funds. 

MyChargeBack experts provide guidance to consumers who are trying to recover their funds from broker disputes, forex scams, or other types of fraud. We consult with clients, research brokers, and create intelligence reports that will assist in fund recovery. In addition, we help clients retrieve their funds through chargebacks, wire recall, and crypto recovery. 

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

The Security and Exchange Commission was established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in the aftermath of the stock market crash that ended the prosperity of the Roaring Twenties and led to the Great Depression. The primary cause of this financial calamity was a widespread lack of financial management regulation and little oversight over the markets. 

What are the purposes of financial regulations? The SEC was founded on the following principles: 

  1. All customers should have access to full transparency and all the necessary information about financial services. Regulated financial institutions should provide accurate and thorough information to clients. This involves any data about securities that could affect their value, disclosure of any stakes in the security, and risks involved in trading. 
  2. Regulated financial institutions should put the interests of clients first and behave fairly. They should not engage in any deceitful practices that would cause them to profit at the expense of their clients. They should follow all of the rules included in financial markets regulation that keeps trading ethical and fair. 

The SEC is a U.S. financial regulator that acts as a law enforcement agency for securities. The regulator has several divisions with different tasks: 

  • Division of Corporation Finance
  • Division of Trading and Markets
  • Division of Investment Management
  • Division of Enforcement
  • Division of Economic and Risk Analysis

The Division of Corporation Finance oversees financial services regulations and ensures that proper disclosures and permissions have been filed and publicized.

The Division of Trading and Markets focuses on the daily oversight of financial markets to ensure that they are fair and operate correctly. 

The Division of Investment Management focuses on those who provide services to investors, such as fund managers, brokers, and research analysts.

The Division of Enforcement recommends when the SEC should initiate legal action and take disciplinary measures for violating financial services regulations.

The Division of Economic and Risk Analysis deals with rulemaking and changes in the policy of the SEC. 

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) 

The Financial Conduct Authority is the office of financial regulation in the United Kingdom and oversees 59,000 financial services organizations. It is not advisable to work with any financial service in the UK that does not have a current license from the FCA. The duties of the FCA include:

  • Financial market regulation
  • Oversight and licensing as a part of financial services regulation
  • Protecting customers and providing information to investors
  • Ongoing inspection of licensees

The FCA is regulated by the UK Parliament and Treasury and carries out some of its functions. Therefore, the FCA is a duly authorized government agency and can enact public policy. The FCA provides many services for consumers and often warns the public about those who violate financial services regulation and claim to have licenses when they do not. 

In addition, consumers can check the credentials of a broker or financial service firm in the UK by typing the name into the financial services register. This information helps consumers to verify contact information and licensing. 

The FCA is also committed to using financial regulation to promote healthy competition between financial services. 

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is the office of financial regulation in Australia. It was founded as an independent government body established by the ASIC Act in 2001. 

ASIC is headed by a chairperson and a committee that are in charge of setting priorities for financial regulation. ASIC is involved in financial market regulation and provides licensing and oversight for brokers, fund managers, analysts, and others who have given financial services. 

ASIC focuses on the markets themselves, companies and individuals who provide financial services, and consumers who need information and protection against unscrupulous practices. 

ASIC has a broad array of responsibilities including financial markets regulation, financial services regulation, and providing warnings and information to customers. The main areas under the control of the ASIC are:

  • Financial markets
  • Consumer credit
  • Financial services

ASIC reports on how effectively financial markets regulation is, where reforms are in order and what new markets require more oversight. In addition, ASIC regulates organizations dealing with consumer credit such as banks, mortgage companies, and credit unions. It also reviews brokers and inspects licensees to ensure they are providing a fair, transparent, and reliable service to clients. 

Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is the South African office of financial regulation which, like other financial regulators, oversees markets, financial services, and assists customers. The FSCA is relatively new and started operating in 2018. It replaced the former Financial Services Board (FSB) and, together with the Prudential Authority, works to regulate markets and financial companies. 

The FSCA was founded to focus on protecting the rights of consumers through consumer education and literacy. The FSCA is also creating reforms to deal with issues where different sets of financial regulations may clash and when issues of jurisdiction are not clear. The FSCA is also concerned with warning the public about unregulated financial institutions and those who pretend to have financial services regulation but are not licensed. 

To address the growing issue of fraud arising from unregulated services and a regulated financial institution that behaves improperly, the FSCA has outlined six principles:

  • Culture and governance
  • Product design
  • Clear communication
  • Suitable advice
  • Performance standards
  • Claims, complaints and changes

The FSCA has made significant changes in its financial services regulation and is customer-focused to prevent the issue of putting out fires after they have been started but to deal with customer issues and questions early on in the process before they have lost money to financial fraud and to educate them to make more astute financial decisions. 

Investment Industry Regulatory Organization and Canada (IIROC)

The IIROC is charged with financial services regulation, for instance, of brokers, fund managers, financial analysts, as well as debt and equity markets. It resembles FINRA in the United States because it is a self-regulatory financial regulatory body. The IIROC works in cooperation with the Canadian Securities Administrators. 

The IIROC is involved with financial market regulation and also can carry out disciplinary actions such as suspensions of licenses, fees and fines. The IIROC also revises policy for financial service regulation, such as market requirements and responsibilities to disclose information to clients. 

Why Financial Regulators Are Important

Every country needs a department of financial and professional regulation to provide oversight, encourage fair competition and prevent and deal with financial fraud. The importance of financial services regulation has been highlighted by the rapid increase in forex scams and crypto scams. These, as well as new financial products such as cryptocurrencies, provide new challenges for financial regulation. 

Regulators shape financial policy for the future as well as deal with present and past infractions. It is important to work with a broker who is compliant with financial management regulation. 

Many consumers are tempted by quick deals on social media which are given no oversight by financial organizations. They can easily take customers’ money, disappear and launder their money on the blockchain without being tracked down. Proper financial regulation provides accountability. These brokers can be fined and lose their licenses. Fund recovery is easier if there is a financial regulator in the picture. 

For customers who have been the target of a scam, finding a fund recovery service that has a close working relationship with financial regulators is essential. MyChargeBack experts will consult with you and help you bolster your case so you can improve the chances of getting your money back. 

If you have lost money to a financial scam or dispute, it is important to seek guidance immediately. Consult with MyChargeBack experts and provide information that can help us draw up an intelligence report and speak to regulators and authorities. We can assist investigations and negotiate with banks to help you with fund recovery. 

The Most Respected Financial Regulators Include:

Beware of Ineffective and Fraudulent Regulators

Alert consumers should beware, however, that weak bodies calling themselves regulatory commissions may also exist. That is especially true in the offshore countries in which many online brokerages claim to be located. Due to the limited governmental infrastructure in these countries – which tend to be underpopulated and underfinanced – the capacity of such agencies to carry out its monitoring function is nominal at best and non-existent at worst.

In addition, some unscrupulous financial investment sites may claim to be members of or regulated by independent industry regulatory associations. In reality, these associations are fictitious. By mentioning them, the operators of these sites are attempting to assure you that the services they offer are reliable when, in fact, they are not..

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