Further Reading
Chapter 2: The Regulatory Landscape: Financial Regulation and Its Architecture
Essential Reading
Stiglitz, J.E. (2010). Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy. W.W. Norton. A Nobel laureate economist's analysis of the 2008 crisis and the regulatory failures that enabled it. Provides the economic foundations for understanding why financial regulation exists and where it failed.
Financial Stability Board (2017). Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions. The international standard for bank resolution — the mechanisms for winding down failed institutions without systemic crisis. Available free from fsb.org. Essential for understanding the stability pillar of financial regulation.
European Banking Authority (current). Single Rulebook. The EBA's consolidated online resource for EU banking regulation, including the Capital Requirements Regulation, Capital Requirements Directive, and all relevant technical standards. The most accessible primary source for EU prudential regulation. Available at eba.europa.eu.
For Practitioners
Scott, H.S. (2012). Connectedness and Contagion: Protecting the Financial System from Panics. MIT Press. A Harvard Law School professor's analysis of how financial interconnectedness creates systemic risk — the core problem that prudential regulation exists to address. Requires some economic literacy but is accessible.
Alexander, K. (2006). Global Governance of Financial Systems: The International Regulation of Systemic Risk. Oxford University Press. The definitive academic treatment of cross-border regulatory coordination in financial services. More accessible than the title suggests; particularly good on the Basel Committee and IOSCO.
UK Law Commission (various). Reports on Financial Services Law Reform. The Law Commission is currently engaged in a systematic review of UK financial services law as part of the post-Brexit regulatory reform. Reports are free and written in accessible language.
Financial Conduct Authority. Handbook. The complete collection of FCA rules, guidance, and instruments. Available online at handbook.fca.org.uk. Comprehensive and well-indexed; the essential reference for UK compliance professionals.
Federal Register.gov — Regulatory Actions The source for US federal regulatory actions — proposed rules, final rules, and related guidance. Essential for tracking regulatory change in real time.
For the Curious
Admati, A. & Hellwig, M. (2013). The Bankers' New Clothes: What's Wrong with Banking and Why So Much Is Wrong with It. Princeton University Press. The most accessible serious critique of bank capital regulation — argues that banks are significantly undercapitalized relative to what economic theory and social welfare would suggest. A useful counterpoint to industry arguments against capital requirements.
Roe, M.J. (1994). Strong Managers, Weak Owners: The Political Roots of American Corporate Finance. Princeton University Press. A classic account of how US political history shaped the fragmented structure of American financial regulation. Historical but essential context for understanding why the US system looks the way it does.
Goodhart, C.A.E. (2008). The Boundary Problem in Financial Regulation. National Institute Economic Review. A brief but insightful essay on the "boundary problem" in financial regulation — the challenge of defining what is inside the regulatory perimeter when financial innovation continually creates new instruments and entities at the edges. Directly relevant to RegTech regulation.
Gorton, G.B. (2012). Misunderstanding Financial Crises: Why We Don't See Them Coming. Oxford University Press. A Yale economist's analysis of why financial crises are systematically difficult to predict and prevent. Essential for understanding the inherent limitations of any regulatory framework.
Regulatory Primary Sources by Topic
Prudential Regulation
| Document | Source |
|---|---|
| Basel III: A Global Regulatory Framework for More Resilient Banks | bis.org |
| BCBS 239: Principles for Effective Risk Data Aggregation | bis.org |
| Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) | EUR-lex |
| PRA Rulebook | bankofengland.co.uk |
Conduct and Consumer Protection
| Document | Source |
|---|---|
| MiFID II (2014/65/EU) | EUR-lex |
| FCA Consumer Duty (PS22/9) | fca.org.uk |
| CFPB Supervision and Examination Manual | consumerfinance.gov |
| Dodd-Frank Title X (Consumer Protection) | congress.gov |
Market Integrity
| Document | Source |
|---|---|
| EU Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014/EU) | EUR-lex |
| SEC Market Manipulation Guidance | sec.gov |
| IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks | iosco.org |
AML/CFT
| Document | Source |
|---|---|
| FATF Recommendations (current edition) | fatf-gafi.org |
| 6th EU AML Directive (2018/843/EU) | EUR-lex |
| Bank Secrecy Act (31 USC 5311 et seq.) | congress.gov |
| FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Final Rule | federalregister.gov |
Journals and Publications
Journal of Financial Regulation (Oxford University Press) — Peer-reviewed articles on regulatory developments and theory.
Capital Markets Law Journal (Oxford University Press) — Securities and capital markets regulation, including MiFID II developments.
Journal of Banking Regulation (Palgrave Macmillan) — Banking supervisory topics, including Basel framework implementation.
International Journal of Law and Information Technology (Oxford) — Technology-law intersection, relevant to RegTech governance.
Global Relay's Annual State of Compliance Report — Industry survey on compliance trends and challenges.