Legal Aspects of Unified Financial Services Supervision in Germany

Abstract

This paper examines recent institutional and structural developments relating to unified supervision of financial services in Germany. The main thrust of the academic debate concerning unified supervision of financial services was started in the UK. More recently, international organizations have taken an interest in the subject. Some of the issues confronting countries the world-over with respect to the unified supervision of financial services are whether to adopt unified supervision and, if so, how to structure the institutional and regulatory framework for unified agencies. At the outset, it must be pointed out that issues of regulatory organization are essentially second order issues. Far more important—and the first order issue— is the implementation of financial regulation, in particular supervisory capacity and its quality and the soundness of the legal framework underlying the regulatory process.

Building Supervisory Structures in Sub-Saharan Africa - An Analytical Framework

“…In many developing countries, it has proven extremely difficult to establish new agencies without political interference and to staff them with competent people. As indicated above, Mwenda (2004) observes that the Pension and Insurance Authority in Zambia lacks many features that could make it an independent and, therefore, effective supervisor, such as the fact that the registrar is nominated by the minister of finance, has reporting lines to the permanent secretary-who also has budgetary controland that staff has no judicial immunity.…”

“…So, establishing a new agency that is properly funded and has the same quality of staff, and enjoys credibility and independence, will, in most cases, be a very challenging undertaking. Mwenda's (2004) analysis of the new supervisory agency in Zambia clearly attests to these problems. Among the main problems, he cites the fact that the Pension and Insurance Authority has no political or budgetary autonomy and that its staff has no legal immunity.…”