Securities and Futures Commission chief executive Ashley Alder made a call for the regulator to stay true its origins, «founded on the bedrock of the rule of law», amid unprecedented social and political changes in Hong Kong.
Alder delivered a speech at an SFC celebration of its 30th anniversary and boasted of the regulators’ uncompromising track record centered around «independence, integrity and public accountability». He illustrated this with a previous case where a powerful unnamed company pressured the SFC to change key investor protection rules for their benefit and threatened otherwise to shift their listing overseas.
«I am told that some of you were even summoned to Government House which put you under further pressure. The fact-specific issues at stake no longer matter. But the point is this: you dug in your heels and you refused to cave in,» Alder said.
«In my view, it is this brand of ethical, clear-eyed and tough decision-making which set the tone for an organization whose effectiveness – founded on the bedrock of the rule of law – has been absolutely crucial to the astonishing growth of Hong Kong as an international financial center ever since.»
«We Are Never Above The Law»
According to Alder, the regulators must continue to deliver outcomes «which the public has a perfect right to expect» even against the challenges of the powerful and influential, calling public trust «the acid test of [the SFC’s] effectiveness».
«And this leads me back to that well-worn phrase – 'the rule of law’,» he reiterated. «For me, it simply means that public authorities like us are never above the law. We can and should always be held publicly and transparently accountable for our actions.»
Alder demonstrated how no decision made by the SFC was ever final, highlighting oversight by various external bodies such as the independent Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal, independent courts and the Market Misconduct Tribunal. He stressed the importance of checks and balances, dependent on an independent judiciary and press, adding that non-executive directors that have served on the board would agree that SFC executives «do not mark their own homework».
Stay True
Alder concluded his speech by taking note of the «unprecedented political and social challenges» Hong Kong is currently facing and restating not only his confidence that the SFC will stay true to his founding values but his belief that the same values will be the driving force for future success.
«As part of this effort, an SFC which continues to value the traditions of independence, integrity and public accountability which were so evident even in the early days, and which remain our guiding principles, can certainly look forward to even greater success over the next 30 years. Thank you,» he said.
The chief regulator will step down from his role in September 2020, ending his third three-year term and marking yesterday as the final SFC anniversary he will attend as staff.
