This book, part of the Integrating National Economies series, examines the case for international harmonization of financial regulation and supervision. Richard J. Herring and Robert E. Litan analyze three basic questions that arise as financial institutions seek to broaden their global reach: What should be the rights of access to markets in different countries? Whose rules should apply? And, which regulatory bodies should enforce these rules?

The authors provide a framework for understanding the measures to regulate international financial institutions that countries have agreed on so far. They project potential changes in the international marketplace and the implications of those changes for regulatory policy. They discuss how policymakers should respond and, given the relevant policy constraints, how they are likely to respond.

The book concludes with proposals designed to emphasize discipline of financial institutions by the market rather than by regulators.