STEPHEN CRANSTON: JSE is not doing enough to keep bond issuers in line
Concern over losing business to smaller exchanges keeps the bourse from ramping up regulations to protect investors
In an age in which self-regulation has usually been a failure, the role of the JSE looks like an anachronism. After all, the exchange isn’t a not-for-profit industry co-operative like a law society or bar association, but a for-profit listed company. Even Warren Buffett says a stock exchange shouldn’t be in the business of making profits — it just needs enough fees to wash its face. As a listed company, the JSE needs to keep the trades in equities, bonds and derivatives pumping.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is becoming an ever more intrusive regulator of unit trusts and insurers, and is now responsible for the market conduct of banks, yet it is happy to leave the JSE to its own devices. A market by its definition is an amoral actor in the economy, there to grease the wheels of commerce...
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