12 Key Standards for Sound Financial Systems

The 12 standard areas highlighted here have been designated by the FSF as key for sound financial systems and deserving of priority implementation depending on country circumstances. While the key standards vary in terms of their degree of international endorsement, they are broadly accepted as representing minimum requirements for good practice. Some of the key standards are relevant for more than one policy area, e.g. sections of the Code of Good Practices on Transparency in Monetary and Financial Policies have relevance for aspects of payment and settlement as well as financial regulation and supervision. 

Area	Standard	Issuing Body
Macroeconomic Policy and Data Transparency
Monetary and financial policy transparency	Code of Good Practices on Transparency in Monetary and Financial Policies	IMF
Fiscal policy transparency	Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency	IMF
Data dissemination	Special Data Dissemination Standard / General Data Dissemination System 1	IMF
Institutional and Market Infrastructure
Insolvency	Insolvency and Creditor Rights 2	World Bank
Corporate governance	Principles of Governance	OECD
Accounting	International Accounting Standards (IAS) 3	IASB 4
Auditing	International Standards on Auditing (ISA)	IFAC 4
Payment and settlement	Core Principles for Systemically Important Payment Systems  Recommendations for Securities Settlement Systems	CPSS CPSS/IOSCO
Market integrity	The Forty Recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force / 9 Special Recommendations Against Terrorist Financing	FATF
Financial Regulation and Supervision
Banking supervision	Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision	BCBS
Securities regulation	Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation	IOSCO
Insurance supervision	Insurance Core Principles	IAIS

 

1. Economies with access to international capital markets are encouraged to subscribe to the more stringent SDDS and all other economies are encouraged to adopt the GDDS.
2. The World Bank is co-ordinating a broad-based effort to develop a set of principles and guidelines on insolvency regimes. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), which adopted the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency in 1997, will help facilitate implementation.