IOPS AGM sees strengthening measures for global
oversight
16 October 2009
The International Organisation of Pension
Supervisors (IOPS) has approved a series of guidelines and reports which
are designed to strengthen the supervisory oversight of global pension
systems, and to protect vulnerable fund members and retirees.
At its 2009 Annual General Meeting, IOPS agreed to these measures in relation
to the recent challenging and volatile economic conditions.
The Guidelines for Supervisory Intervention, Sanctions and Enforcement
outlines global good practice when it comes to the powers needed and used
by supervisory authorities in relation to intervening, applying sanctions
and enforcement. Another Working Paper, Pension Funds’ Risk-management
Frameworks: Regulation and Supervisory Oversight, looks at the type
of risk-management systems supervisory authorities expect pension funds
to have in place, and outlines ways that supervisors can check their systems
are operating sufficiently.
IOPS has also addressed recent failures in effective oversight of the
global financial system, and has encouraged IOPS members to look at their
own operations and governance. Working Paper Governance and Performance
Mechanisms of Supervisory Authorities addresses how the good governance
of pension supervisory authorities can be summarised in four categories:
independence, accountability, transparency and integrity.
“I am pleased that the organisation continues to make progress in
developing a robust and practical body of work to aid our members in their
important task of protecting investors in our ever-growing global pension
funds,” commented Ross Jones, IOPS president, and deputy chairman
of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). “The turmoil
in the financial markets in 2008 only serves to remind us that supervisors
must constantly review and improve their own oversight systems and the
IOPS international standards and surveys are an important resource for
helping us stay at the forefront of pension supervision.”
The AGM also saw Jones re-elected to serve a further two years as IOPS
president, and representative authorities from Australia, Egypt, India,
Italy and Jordan were also elected to serve on the IOPS Executive Committee.
