CSA and SEC working towards mutual recognition arrangement

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a schedule for the completion of a process agreement that would open the way for discussions of a U.S.-Canada mutual recognition agreement.
Mutual recognition could provide Canadian securities exchanges and certain other Canadian financial service providers with greater freedom to operate in the United States under Canadian regulatory oversight.
Similarly, U.S. securities markets and certain other U.S. financial service firms could gain greater freedom to operate in Canada under SEC oversight, a joint CSA and SEC release says.
If mutual recognition is achieved, dual recognition, redundancy and regulatory overlap could be eliminated, the release says.
Under the schedule announcement, the process agreement would be concluded in mid-June 2008.
“The process agreement we hope to execute next month will provide an efficient means to focus U.S.-Canada discussions,” SEC chairman Christopher Cox said.
“That, in turn, could pave the way for an eventual arrangement with our Canadian counterparts that would deepen cooperation among securities regulators in North America and strengthen the regulation of ongoing cross-border investment opportunities.”