Committee of European Securities Regulators


The Committee of European Securities Regulators was an independent committee of European Securities regulators, in place from 2001 to 2010. On, it was replaced by the European Securities and Markets Authority.

Background

Chairs' Informal Group

While Europe's banking supervisors came together in a regular format as early as 1972 with the creation of the Groupe de Contact, the process of international coordination came more slowly to the securities space, if only because many European countries lacked an independent securities commission. Eventually, in 1989, the leaders of the Belgian Banking Commission, French Commission des Opérations de Bourse, Italian Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa, UK Securities and Investments Board, Spanish Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores, and Dutch Stichting Toezicht Effectenverkeer decided to gather regularly in an informal group which also included the German Federal Ministry of Finance. The group had its first meeting at the newly created Dutch authority in Amsterdam in November 1989, and the next ones in London, Paris, Rome, and Brussels. The founding members were soon joined by the chairs of the Luxembourg Commissariat aux Bourses and Portuguese Securities Market Commission.

Forum of European Securities Commissions

In 1997, the securities commissions replaced their informal group with a more formalized organization, the Forum of European Securities Commissions. The chairs of FESCO's member authorities usually met four times a year, and the organization also supported several expert groups on thematic regulatory issues, with a small permanent secretariat based in Paris. By 2000, FESCO's membership had grown to 17 authorities : in addition to the Dutch STE, French COB, Italian CONSOB, Portuguese CMVM, and Spanish CNMV, these were the Central Bank of Ireland, Greece's Capital Market Commission, Norway's Kredittilsynet, Denmark's Finanstilsynet, Belgium's Commission Bancaire et Financière, Sweden's Finansinspektionen, Finland's Rahoitustarkastus, Germany's , Austria's Bundes-Wertpapieraufsicht, Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, UK Financial Services Authority, and Iceland's Financial Supervisory Authority. The European Commission participated in FESCO meetings as an observer. FESCO was in turn replaced by CESR in 2001.

Creation of CESR and subsequent development

CESR was created by decision of the European Commission on, following a resolution of the European Council of, and a subsequent resolution of the European Parliament. The role of the committee was to:
  • Improve the coordination among securities regulators
  • Act as an advisory group to assist European Commission
  • Work on implementation of community legislation in EU member states
Two other Level-3 committees in the Lamfalussy process were created in 2004, the Committee of European Banking Supervisors and the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors.
On 1 January 2011, CESR was in turn replaced by the European Securities and Markets Authority, which is part of the European System of Financial Supervision.

Membership

The Committee's member organizations were: