Comparative Regulatory Environments: A Comparison of Financial Services Regulation in Eight Jurisdictions

Commissioned by the Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA), this report provides a high level comparison of the regulatory environment that impacts the financial services industry in some of the main jurisdictions based on relevant instrumental factors, responses to an online questionnaire and desk research. The jurisdictions examined in this research are Canada, Dubai, European Union (EU), Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA).

Whilst there are some jurisdictions that perform better than others, the overall picture that comes from the industry regarding the regulatory environment is not encouraging. Financial professionals seem jaded by the whole focus on regulations in the industry. Most believe that the regulations will become more onerous, less easy to comply with, more costly, but, at the same time, less effective. Most also believe that regulations will become a greater barrier to entry in the future.