About the Principles

In 2012, the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published international standards for the design and operation of systemically important financial market infrastructure (FMI), known as the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (the Principles).^[1]

The Principles outline a comprehensive set of minimum standards for FMIs, in a number of areas, including the general organisation of the FMI, credit, liquidity and operational risk management, and efficiency and access. The 24 headline Principles are each supported by a set of key considerations, which further elaborate on the requirements for FMIs set out in each principle, and explanatory notes that offer additional guidance as to how an FMI might meet the requirements of each principle and key consideration in practice. The Principles update, replace, and synthesise three previous sets of recommendations and principles published by CPMI and IOSCO with respect to particular types of FMI – payment systems, central counterparties and securities settlement systems.

The Principles also establish a set of ‘Responsibilities for Central Banks, Market Regulators and other Relevant Authorities for FMIs’. These responsibilities emphasise the consistent application of the Principles to systemically important FMIs, the power to enforce corrective action to ensure observance of the Principles, and the importance of cooperation among authorities responsible for particular FMIs.

The Principles represent an important milestone in the broader process of international financial reform that has emerged since the onset of the global financial crisis. Recognition of the potential risks inherent in over-the‑counter derivatives trades prompted international regulators and the G20 to encourage management of these risks through increased central clearing of these transactions.^[2] With market participants, in response, making greater use of centralised – often cross-border – FMIs, establishing an exacting and internationally harmonised set of standards, such as the Principles, is essential. The Principles also address moral hazard concerns that may arise from the provision of central bank services to FMIs in a crisis, by requiring infrastructures to have in place stringent risk controls.

Endnotes

As of 1 September 2014, the mandate and charter of the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems have been refreshed and the Committee has been renamed. It is now known as the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures. [1]

For more information, see ‘Regulatory Framework’ under ‘OTC Derivatives’. [2]