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Regulators need to adapt to new technology
New South Wales Law Society head Stuart Westgarth has singled out the "lightning speed" of trading on global financial markets as the next major issue for regulators.Westgarth was speaking at…
Lawyers Weekly
New South Wales Law Society head Stuart Westgarth has singled out the "lightning speed" of trading on global financial markets as the next major issue for regulators.
He said that the speed of such transactions would prompt regulators to review its policies.
"Jurisdictions around the world are taking a fresh look at market regulation to ensure the stability of securities markets," he said.
Westgarth added that the law needs to keep pace with the increasingly electronic nature of securities trading, with regulators needing to ascertain whether the increasingly complex nature of financial markets has made it more difficult to track transactions within any reasonable length of time.
Westgarth also lauded Australian regulators during his address for a "principles-based approach to market regulation". He said that the Australian model was being increasingly looked at by the International Organisation of Securities Commissions and that the success of the Australian regulatory approach had "shielded Australian entities from the worst fall-out consequences of the GFC".
Other speakers at the conference, which examined trends in share market regulation, included Tom Bathurst, the Chief Justice of NSW, Shane Tregillis, who is leaving his current post as the ASIC Commissioner to assume the role of chief ombudsman with the Financial Ombudsman Service on Thursday (26 August), and Alan Cameron, the chair of ASX Compliance.
See Lawyers Weekly tomorrow for more coverage of the conference.
