^aUniversité de Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland. E-mail: philippe.gugler@unifr.ch

Abstract

Sound financial markets are of tremendous importance to the functioning of a national economy. Regulation and supervision are essential not only in order to maintain the financial markets' stability and integrity, but also to protect the interests of depositors, investors, consumers, and insurance policyholders and ensure the proper functioning of business transactions. In order to monitor effectively the current developments of financial markets, it is essential to review and adjust periodically regulation and supervision mechanisms.