On January 19, 2017, the SEC announced the establishment of a comprehensive arrangement with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). The new supervisory cooperation arrangement will augment the SEC's and the SFC's ability to share information about regulated entities that operate in the United States and Hong Kong, including investment advisers, broker- dealers, securities exchanges, market infrastructure providers and credit rating agencies. The new comprehensive arrangement expands upon the one from 1995 that was limited to investment management activities.
Supervisory cooperation arrangements establish mechanisms for ongoing consultation and the exchange of information regarding the oversight of global firms and markets. Such information may include routine supervisory information as well as information regulators need to monitor risk concentrations, identify emerging risks and better understand a globally active regulated entity's compliance culture. These arrangements also facilitate the ability of the SEC and its counterparts to conduct on-site examinations of registered entities located outside the United States.
The Memorandum of Understanding is available at: https://www.sec.gov/about/offices/oia/oia_bilateral/hongkong-011817.pdf.
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