ISOCO annual conference to be held in Tel Aviv

The IOSCO Conference will provide one of the first opportunities for world-leading regulatory authorities to address global effects of the current financial crisis.

The organizing committee of the IOSCO 2009 conference, the global securities regulators most important annual event, announced today that the Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Schapiro, will be headlining a group of experts from around the world participating in this year’s event, to be held in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 8-11.

The conference provides one of the first opportunities for the world's leading regulatory experts to address the global effects of the financial crisis on the financial and securities system and the stability of the world economy.

"As the hosts for IOSCO 2009, the Israel Securities Authority and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange are honored that the world’s leading regulatory experts will be joining us at the conference. Their participation attests to the significance of this event," said Prof. Zohar Goshen, Chairman of the ISA. "IOSCO 2009 represents a unique opportunity for all of the participants to address the current economic situation in one forum, making this event one of the most important such forums in recent memory."

The annual IOSCO conference focuses on articulating international standards of conduct, promoting cooperation between securities regulators and facilitating seamless integration between financial markets. The public panels at the 2009 conference will include discussions focused on the influences of the current market crisis on the global financial system and the stability of the world economy, questions relating to the apparent need for adaptation of processes to an emerging global landscape, corporate governance issues and improving risk management.

International experts in financial regulation, the financial industry and academia will be participating in this year’s conference, including Mr. Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.; Mr. Deven Sharma, President, Standard & Poor’s; Prof. Eddy Wymeersch, Chairman, IOSCO Regional Committee, Chairman, Committee of European Securities Regulators; Prof. Stanley Fischer, Governor, Bank of Israel; Prof. Zohar Goshen, Chairman, Israel Securities Authority; Mr. William Brodsky, CEO of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and many other prominent members of securities regulatory institutions, international organizations, stock exchanges and financial institutions. The complete list of participants and the full conference program is available at the IOSCO2009 conference website.

The IOSCO 2009 Conference will be hosted by the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). The Israel Securities Authority protects the interests of the investing public by supplying the needed transparency and regulation of the Israeli securities market and is the agency charged with leading Israel’s regulatory development, while the TASE has and continues to drive Israel’s capital market development through the provision of advanced platforms for the listing and trading of equity, debt and derivatives.   

"We are delighted to be hosting this event in Israel, a country whose strong level of investor protection and sophistication of the local financial markets are recognized in the high rankings granted to Israel by bodies such as the World Bank and the World Economic Forum," added Goshen.

Participants:

• Professor Stanley Fischer, Governor, Bank of Israel
• Professor Zohar Goshen, Chairman, Israel Securities Authority
• Ms. Ester Levanon, Chief Executive Officer, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
• Mr. Deven Sharma, President, Standard & Poors
• Prof. John C. Coffee Jr., Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
• Ms. Jane Diplock, Chairperson, IOSCO Executive Committee; Chairperson, New Zealand Securities Commission
• Mr. Saul Bronfeld, Chairman, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
• Ms. Kathleen L. Casey, Chairman, IOSCO Technical Committee; Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• Ms. Mary Schapiro, Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• Mr. Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times
• Mr. Guillermo Larrain, Chairman, IOSCO Emerging Markets Committee; Chairman, Superintendencia de Valores y Seguros, Chile
• Mr. Greg Tanzer, Secretary General, IOSCO
• Professor Mario Draghi, Governor, Banca d’Italia; Chairman, Financial Stability Forum
• Mr. Paul McCulley, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, PIMCO, US
• Lord Adair Turner, Chairman, UK Financial Services Authority
• Mr. Hans Hoogervorst, Chairman, Authority for the Financial Markets, Netherlands; Vice Chairman, IOSCO Technical Committee
• Mr. Junichi Maruyama, Deputy Commissioner for International Affairs, Financial Services Agency, Japan
• Mr. Martin Wheatley, JP, Chief Executive Officer, Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong
• Mr. William J. Brodsky, Chairman, World Federation of Exchanges; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Board Options Exchange
• Dr. Hua Yu, CFA, Deputy Chaiman, Fund Industry Committee, Securities Association of China; Board Director, International Investment Funds Association (IIFA); Board Director and CEO, Morgan Stanley Huaxin Funds, China
• Ms. Maria Helena Santana, Chairperson, Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil
• Mr. C. B. Bhave, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India
• Professor Eddy Wymeersch, Chairman, IOSCO European Regional Committee; Chairman, CESR (Committee of European Securities Regulators); Chairman, Surveillance Board, Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission, Belgium
• Dame Clara Furse, CEO, London Stock Exchange Group
• Mr. Ossian Ekdahl, Head of Corporate Governance, Forsta AP-fonden (The First Swedish National Pension Fund)

About IOSCO

The member agencies currently assembled together in the International Organization of Securities Commissions have resolved, through its permanent structures to cooperate together to promote high standards of regulation in order to maintain just, efficient and sound markets; to exchange information on their respective experiences in order to promote the development of domestic markets; to unite their efforts to establish standards and an effective surveillance of international securities transactions; and to provide mutual assistance to promote the integrity of the markets by a rigorous application of the standards and by effective enforcement against offenses.