A report on the Transatlantic Financial Services Regulatory Dialogue

The Transatlantic Financial Markets Dialogue led by the SEC and the European Commission has achieved some notable successes, particularly with respect to the consolidated supervision of financial conglomerates and the development of a plan to achieve convergence in corporate financial reporting. On both sides of the Atlantic there is a clear ongoing commitment to the Dialogue as a key mechanism for the development of efficient and credible regulatory solutions that guarantee effective investor protection and a high level of business efficiency. This paper reports on a two-day roundtable discussion that took place at Cambridge University, UK, in September 2005 to explore ways in which the academic community can contribute to this transatlantic debate. Lively discussion between the policymakers, regulators, market participants and academics who attended the roundtable yielded a number of thematic concerns, which, the paper suggests, could form the basis of a programme for further work. Finally, the paper announces the establishment of a seminar series, to be based in the UK, on the Transatlantic Financial Services Regulatory Dialogue and invites contributions.