FAIR Canada releases report on TSX profit/regulation conflict
The Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights (FAIR Canada) released a report earlier this week that reviews "the conflicts of interest that arise when exchanges that are commercial businesses also act as regulators and supervisors of issuers." Specifically, the report contends that the TSX is the only major exchange reviewed that has failed to implement specific measures to manage its conflicts of interest in regulating listed companies. According to FAIR Canada, other major exchanges have addressed such conflicts through changes in corporate governance, organizational structure, corporate policies and internal procedures.
Ultimately, the report provides three regulatory alternatives for the TSX to consider, being: (i) transferring most listings regulation responsibilities to another regulator; (ii) establishing a regulation subsidiary company with independent governance to perform listing regulation; and (iii) establishing a listings regulation department that is separate from the business operations of the exchange to perform listings regulation. While an Ontario legislative committee recently recommended that the OSC review the potential for conflicts of interest between the regulatory and commercial functions of the TSX, it is not yet clear whether any regulatory changes will be made.
