International cooperation

Effective and timely international cooperation among supervisory bodies within the European Union and on the global level is becoming an increasingly important dimension of the action of supervisory bodies aimed at maintaining financial stability, proper functioning of the market and protecting investors. Considering that a large number of globally and regionally active companies offer their financial services across borders, and given the frequent market turbulences within the financial sector caused by various economic and political events of global nature, supervisory cooperation, not only among supervisory bodies in the financial sector but also with regulators and competent bodies in other sectors (intersectoral cooperation), is gaining significance. 

Hanfa has recognised such trends and actively participates in the maintenance and establishment of quality supervisory cooperation both with institutions within the EU and on a global level, which takes place on a multilateral and bilateral basis.

The goals of international cooperation Hanfa wants to achieve are:

• identifying risks that jeopardise the non-banking financial market and launching appropriate preventive supervisory measures
• promoting effective and consistent supervision
• establishing an appropriate and proportionate regulatory framework.

Hanfa strives to implement these goals primarily through its membership in EU bodies: the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and by participating in the work of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), and cooperation within the frameworks of IAIS, IOSCO and IOPS – international bodies responsible for insurance markets, capital markets and pension funds.

Hanfa takes active part in numerous working groups of ESMA focused on the improvement of legislative and supervisory frameworks, as well as in several ESMA colleges of supervisors assigned with coordinating supervision of companies providing market infrastructure services. 
At the same time, Hanfa advises various Croatian government bodies concerning the adoption of regulations at the EU level in the areas under Hanfa’s supervision, within the framework of the activities of individual working groups of the Council and the European Commission.

Hanfa additionally works on establishing appropriate and transparent supervisory practice by taking part in different forms of technical cooperation under the auspices of the European Commission both as a recipient and provider of technical assistance, and by entering into bilateral cooperation agreements.

Furthermore, Hanfa has signed a number of bilateral agreements with supervisory bodies in neighbouring countries responsible for the same areas of the financial sector as Hanfa, with a view of providing assistance to these bodies when raising regulatory and supervisory standards within these areas.

Ante Žigman, the President of the Board of Hanfa, is a member of EIOPA’s Mediation Panel and the Executive Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) as the representative of the Central and Eastern Europe and the Transcaucasian (CEET) region, and actively takes part in the work of these international bodies.