Congress recently approved a bill to replace the Superintendence of Securities and Insurance, the securities and insurance watchdog, with the newly created Financial Markets Commission.
The bill was introduced by Congress in July 2013 following recommendations made by various international organisations, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, regarding the importance of:
- improving Chile's securities and insurance markets;
- strengthening the authority's independence and regulatory, investigative and sanctioning powers; and
- exchanging and sharing information with regulators from other jurisdictions.
The bill was approved and sent for promulgation in December 2016.
The commission will comprise five people. The chair will be appointed by the Chilean president and his or her term of office will last for the same period as that of the appointing president.
The remaining four commissioners will be appointed by the president with the approval of the Senate. The commissioners will be in office for six years and two of them will be replaced every three years.
The commission will have the same authority in the financial and insurance markets as its predecessor, as well as improved powers, particularly regarding investigations and the application of penalties.
For further information on this topic please contact Santiago Montt Vicuña at Montt y Cia SA by telephone (+56 22 233 8266) or email ([email protected]). The Montt y Cia SA website can be accessed at www.monttcia.cl.