Act on Financial Supervision
The Act on Financial Supervision (Wet op het financieel toezicht (Wft)) has come into effect on 1 January 2007. The Wft brings together practically all the rules and conditions that apply to the financial markets and their supervision. In total, the Wft replaces eight existing supervision Acts. The extensive system of supervision of financial institutions that exists in the
The idea behind the Wft is that legislation for the financial markets should be targeted, market-oriented and clear. The tasks of the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) (prudential supervision) and those of the AFM (supervision of conduct of business) are to be separated in such a way that there is no overlap. Moreover, the rules governing financial institutions have been simplified and the Wft also reduces the administrative burden on the business sector. The intention behind the Wft was not to revise the material standards for financial supervision but instead to anchor the functional supervision model in law and to make the regulations as consistent as possible across the various supervised sectors and not so much the types of institutions.
The simplification and reduction of the administrative burden is achieved by, among other things, turning eight Acts into one, by creating a single general rule for as many issues as possible, and by describing the tasks of both supervisory authorities and regulating the cooperation between the DNB and the AFM in law.
The introduction of the Wft has led to existing supervision Acts being incorporated into a single Act. The Acts in question are the Act on the Supervision of the Credit System 1992 (Wet toezicht kredietwezen 1992), the Act on the Supervision of the Insurance Industry 1993 (Wet toezicht verzekeringsbedrijf 1993), the Act on the Supervision of the Securities Trade 1995 (Wet toezicht effectenverkeer 1995), the Act on the Supervision of Collective Investment Schemes (Wet toezicht beleggingsinstellingen), the Act on the Supervision of the Funeral Provisions Insurance Industry [Wet toezicht natura-uitvaartverzekeringsbedrijf], the Act on the Disclosure of Major Holdings (Wet melding zeggenschap), the Consumer Credit Act (Wet op het consumentenkrediet], the Insurance Brokerage Business Act (Wet assurantiebemiddelingsbedrijf) and the Financial Services Act (Wet financiële dienstverlening). The incorporation of these Acts into one single Act will be accompanied by a number of changes.
The most important of these are:
- A new structure for the regulations
- Changed terminology
- New and changed general and conduct-related standards.
- In cooperation with the DNB and representative organisations, the AFM is preparing market parties as well as possible for the implementation of the Wft.
By the way:
Gerelateerde artikelen:
- Financial Education
- Boost Financial Gains with Multinational Pooling
- Crystal ball and other predictions
