ASIC Commissioner Jillian Segal's speech to the ISDA/AFMA Conference, Sydney, 19 October 2000.
Thank you for the opportunity to address this combined ISDA / AFMA conference. I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak to you from a regulator's perspective on what the program calls 'public policy'.
When Ken Farrow invited me to speak this morning, I wondered what public policy issues would be of interest and add to the value of a day for professionals in over-the-counter markets. There is much to choose from but my choice is to talk to you about trends in regulation of financial markets and their participants and a few of the challenges facing us. I will naturally enough concentrate on Australia, although I want to argue that Australia is a microcosm for developments in global markets generally.
We are not the first place where most major market trends begin, but the structure and ownership of the Australian financial services industry, and the generally outward looking approach of those who work in it, means we are often early adopters of new trends and technologies.