Hanging together or hanging separately: Is competition law in the process of eclipsing financial regulation?
Hanging together or hanging separately: Is competition law in the process of eclipsing financial regulation?
This article examines the potential for the application of competition law in the banking sector to eclipse financial regulation. Financial regulation has changed in response to the global financial crisis. Competition law acts to promote the interests of consumers, whereas finance regulation at best only protects the interests of consumers. Successful use of leniency provisions means that competition law is achieving successes in punishing financial institutions that have engaged in cartel conduct. This success may lead to regulatory scope creep and the application of abuse of market power provisions in the financial sector unless financial regulation can be seen to be for the benefit of consumers, rather than the regulated.
Law and Financial Markets Review, Vol. 8, No. 2, Apr 2014: 178-184.