The role of regulatory bodies is to provide investor protection and ensure the orderly operation of financial markets.

Since the merger of Euronext’s marketplaces, regulators in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Portugal have worked together to co-ordinate the supervision of the Euronext group and this section of the website deals with the different regulatory authorities and their roles in Euronext’s marketplaces: Belgium, France, The Netherlands, and Portugal.

The BFIC (Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission) is an autonomous public institution with its own legal identity and it is in charge of supervising Euronext Brussels segment and trading members operating within it.

French banking law grants regulatory and supervisory powers over credit institutions and investment firms to various administrative authorities. These authorities include:

• the Comité des Etablissements de Crédit et des Entreprises d’Investissement (CECEI), which has the authority to grant or revoke banking and investment services licences;
• the Banking Commission (Commission Bancaire), which is responsible for supervising credit institutions and investment firms;
• In addition, the Ministry of Economics and Finance establishes general rules governing the operation of credit institutions and investment firms, including management standards, prudential ratios and the setting of capital requirements.

The French financial community also has one major public independent authority, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).

The supervision on the Dutch financial markets is divided amongst:

• The Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) is responsible for prudential supervision focuses on monitoring the health of financial institutions.
• The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is responsible for conduct supervision whether the participants on financial markets are handled properly and whether they have accurate information.

Euronext Amsterdam has been designated by the Minister of Finance as the competent authority to supervise securities listed on the primary market. This responsibility will be transferred to the AFM when the new prospective directive, mentioned above, is implemented in Dutch law.

The Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM) is the regulatory authority for Euronext Lisbon in charge of supervising and regulating financial markets, and those active within these markets.

Within its supervision role, CMVM follows the activity of the entities under its supervision, monitors compliance with laws and regulations, files registries with a legality control purpose, develops inspections, imposes sanctions within its range of powers and issues ordinances and specific recommendations.