Fortin, Philippe
(1997)
The Canadian securities industry and North American free trade: Legal perspectives.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
The revolution in the financial services sector is dramatically changing the way in which the securities industry conducts its activities. With existing current differences between nations in the regulation of financial institutions acting as barriers to the efficient operation of markets, cooperation among governments is needed to ensure that the new international setting is both stable and competitive. In North America, fresh initiatives are gradually leading towards the harmonization of regulation, particularly in the securities sector. As a result, the industry must adjust itself to this newly evolving reality. The aim of this paper is to focus on the principles regulating the Canadian securities industry in its newest configuration under a North American free trade area. To begin the study, a picture is drawn of the Canadian securities industry itself and of the events leading to the arrival of what is hoped to be an eventual hemispheric free trade area. With the internationalization of Canada's financial markets, Canadian policymakers (both at the federal and provincial levels) have had to make efforts to harmonize and coordinate financial regulation affecting the securities industry. These efforts were accompanied by a series of undertakings leading towards an indisputable "Americanization" of Canadian securities policies. On another level, an assessment is made of the two most recent developments leading to a lowering of barriers to trade in financial services and to the establishment of foreign financial institutions in North American domestic markets. These are the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement. Finally, the work examines the impact of North American free trade on the way the players Canadian securities industry now operate at home, in the U.S. as well as in Mexico. In the end, the conclusions help to put in perspective the level of progress attained by Canadians in view of global and regional competition.
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