Corporate Governance in the Financial Services Industry - Is there still a Role for Self-Regulation?

Armin Kammel, Head of Legal & International Affairs, Austrian Association of Investment Fund Management Companies, Austria

The financial crisis had a significant impact on the financial services industry from both an economic as well as a regulatory point of view. While the market conditions deteriorated and never bounced back to a pre-crisis level, the regulatory impact has been substantial since a “wave” of new regulation hit the industry. When analyzing in particular the European environment, this new wave of regulation consists of announced reviews of existing regulation but in particular new ad-hoc legislation. Against this background, the paper reviews the changing relationship between state regulation and self-regulation by focussing on the structural and dogmatic shift which can be observed in the sense that self-regulation is continuously pushed aside by detailed and very technical state regulation.

Dr. Armin J. KAMMEL, LL.M. (London) is Head of Legal & International Affairs with the Austrian Association of Investment Fund Management Companies in Vienna, Austria as well as Faculty Member and Course Coordinator at Danube University Krems, Austria. Dr. Kammel is specialized in banking law and capital markets law and has published extensively in these fields.

The Association of Austrian Investment Companies (Vereinigung Österreichischer Investmentgesellschaften, VÖIG) was founded on 20 January 1988, and is an umbrella organization for all Austrian investment fund management companies and all Austrian real estate investment fund management companies. VÖIG represents 100% of the fund assets managed by the Austrian investment fund management companies and real estate investment fund management companies. The purpose and the duty of this Association, which is organized under the law of associations, are to promote the investment industry in Austria and to provide comprehensive support to the Association's members. VÖIG participates in the evaluation of national and international (primarily European) rules that affect the interests of its members. VÖIG is in permanent contact with ministries, authorities and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO) and exchanges information with national and international organizations and associations. VÖIG is also an active member of the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), and the International Investment Fund Association (IIFA) See www.voeig.at