New York Meets On Transforming Financial Regs

A group working to modernize New York’s financial regulatory system will follow a proposal for changes put forward by the state’s insurance superintendent, officials said.

Their comments came at a briefing Friday after the first formal session of the New York Commission to Modernize the Regulation of Financial Services. The group discussed converting all financial services industry sectors from one based on specific rules to one guided by basic principles, according to officials.

The 20 principles that would guide the regulation of the industry–10 for licensees and 10 for regulators–are the same as those released in a draft regulation by New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo in November.

“The fact of the matter is that New York’s current regulations are out of date,” New York Governor Eliot Spitzer said in a statement. “By reforming burdensome and ineffective regulation, the commission’s recommendations will help New York retain and enhance its status as the world’s financial capital.”