2008 marked the height of the global financial crisis. The intervening years have seen criticism of financial regulators, a variety of enforcement activities and a raft of regulatory reforms. Hong Kong and its Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) are generally considered to have fared well in their response to the financial crisis. Five years on, we have analysed regulatory and enforcement developments in Hong Kong between 2009 and 2014,1 and considered where the SFC may direct its future regulatory oversight and enforcement activities.
In this, the first of our series of reports, we present an overview of the SFC’s supervisory and enforcement activities over the review period, before considering in more detail the regulatory and enforcement developments pertaining to intermediary misconduct and unlicensed activities – two of the SFC’s core enforcement programmes. Studies of pivotal cases are presented, highlighting lessons learnt and practical tips for the future. Subsequent reports will focus on the SFC’s other core enforcement programmes: corporate governance and disclosure, insider dealing and market manipulation.
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