In order to facilitate healthy debate on the recommendations of the FSLRC (Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission), including the Indian Financial Code, among the people who matter in the financial markets and to sensitize various categories of professionals about the likely reforms path in the financial legislations, The Institute of Company Secretaries of India ( ICSI) is organizing a series of seminars and workshops throughout the country. One Such Seminar was organized today in Chennai.

Shri P. Chidambaram, Union Minister of Finance, inaugurated the Seminar. In his Inaugural Address, he said that multiplicity of institutions and regulators which had come up from time to time to meet newly-perceived requirements, had potentially created regulatory overlaps, gaps and ambiguity on account of lack of role clarity. This, he said, created inefficiencies in addressing critical emerging issues in an increasingly dynamic, complex and interconnected financial world.

“The present arrangements have a number of gap areas, where no regulators are unambiguously in-charge, such as issue of regulatory oversight over diverse Ponzi schemes that we have discovered recently. These are cleverly designed to be out of the purview of regulatory agencies,” he said. The current legislative framework, he said, addressed only temporary pressure and not critical key issues. Besides, there were multiplicity of laws, institutions and regulators that created ambiguity.

Justice Mr. B.N. Srikrishna, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India and Chairman of the FSLRC delivered the Key Note Address. While addressing the major concerns in the minds of various stakeholders and doubts surrounding the recommendations of FSLRC, Justice Srikrishna emphasized that change in the mindset and taking a bold step forward is necessary to accept the reforms envisaged which would enable the country to attune itself while paving the way to compete with the world leaders. However, he opined that all these reforms should be carried out not during the times of crisis but in times of ‘peace’.

Shri S. N. Ananthasubramanian, President, Council of The ICSI in his Presidential Address, stated that ICSI`s endeavour is not only to promote good corporate governance but also promote that market governance is fostered in an even-handed manner so as to ensure seamless relationship between the two. He pointed out that the FSLRC Report was timely as there was a felt need that the institutional structure of the financial sector in India needed a review and to be recast in tune with the contemporary requirements of the sector.

The seminars witnessed a galaxy of other speakers and distinguished experts from government, regulators, industry and academia deliberate the recommendations of the FSLRC during the technical sessions.

Regulatory reform urged to resolve institutional overlaps and gaps, promoting cohesive financial sector governance and code adoption. The seminar foregrounded reforming the statutory architecture through the FSLRC recommendations and the proposed Indian Financial Code, identifying regulatory overlaps, multiplicity of laws and institutions, oversight gaps, and lack of role clarity as core deficiencies; it urged a systemic recasting of institutional structure to align market governance with corporate governance and recommended implementing reforms in times of policy stability with stakeholder engagement.