The Inter-American Development Bank representative in Argentina, Daniel Oliveira, Ibero-American Federation of Stock Exchanges president, Guillermo Prieto Treviño, and the institution’s general secretary, Elvira María Schamann, today signed a memorandum of understanding to build a framework for cooperation to promote the modernization of capital markets and to strengthen their integration among the federation’s member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The federation promotes the integration and harmonization of regional stock exchanges to expand trading in local markets. It is comprised of 15 exchanges from 12 countries. FIAB’s goal of better integrating markets is one that the IDB has been actively engaged in, and it is expected that this cooperation will deepen work in this field in the region.
The signing ceremony took place in conjunction with the 31st.General Meeting of the federation in Buenos Aires, Argentina. IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias sent a special message for the occasion coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange.
“The IDB has a long-term strategy to help integrate the financial markets in Latin America and the Caribbean by supporting institutional strengthening and exploring new instruments and types of nontraditional actions to foster financial activities,” Iglesias said. “The broader vision adopted with the FIAB will lead to a better integration and interconnection of the markets in the region,” he added.
IDB and capital markets integration
The IDB has supported numerous reform projects in virtually all Latin American and Caribbean countries aimed at establishing financial services’ legislation that meets international standards and harmonizing the various regulatory systems, including those for pension and insurance funds’ management, as well as for banking and capital markets products.
The Bank financed over 38 operations for capital market reform, 28 for the insurance industry, 17 for pension reform and several regional initiatives such as those for the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur) and the Andean region and many operations indirectly aimed at enhancing the investment environment.
The IDB has also supported the preparation and implementation of international bank supervision standards and securities regulations, the Principles of Corporate Governance by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the preparation of international accounting standards.