In the past 18 months the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), led by chief executive Martin Wheatley, has been simultaneously cleaning up the mess from Lehman Brothers’ minibonds debacle, overseeing legal battles between liquidators and claimants against the Lehman’s estate and launching investigations into banks’ selling practices.
Wheatley has also been playing a major role in the new global regulatory regime. In a process where the G20, the financial stability board and individual politicians are driving agendas, the SFC must ensure that Hong Kong keeps in-step with the US and Europe’s regulatory changes, while remaining competitive.
Here, Wheatley talks to IFLR about structured finance reform, market misconduct, the future of financial regulation and his plans for 2010.
The last time we met was September 2008 and many governments were banning short selling. Things have calmed down considerably since then, though?I’d like to say so,...