Italian Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa

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Italian Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa
Founded	1985
Headquarters	Rome, Italy
Key People	Lamberto Cardia, Chairman
Website	http://www.consob.it

The Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) is the independent public authority responsible for regulating the Italian securities market.

Organization and Purpose

CONSOB's responsibilities include:

• Regulating the provision of investment services by intermediaries, the disclosure obligations of companies listed on regulated markets and the soliciation of investors
• Supervising market operating companies, maintaining transparent and orderly trading conditions and ensuring the proper conduct of intermediaries and financial salesmen
• Punishing companies and persons subject to its jurisdiction
• Checking information provided by listed companies and other entities and persons who solicit investors and information contained in the financial reports of listed companies
• Investigating anomalous trading conditions involving listed securities and taking other actions needed to verify violations of the law or insider trading and market manipulation
• Communicating with market participants and the investing public to perform its duties more effectively and to increase investors' financial knowledge
• Collaborating with other Italian and international authorities

CONSOB is governed by a Commission made up of a chairman and four members, all of whom are appointed by a decree issued by the President of the Republic, and all of whom serve five-year terms of office. CONSOB operations are supported by a state budget allocation supplemented by fees paid by market operating companies and market participants.

History

Set up by Law 216/1974 as the government agency entrusted with all the functions regarding stock exchanges previously performed by the Treasury Ministry, and with duties regarding the control of listed companies, CONSOB was turned into an independent authority by Law 281/1985, which recognized it as having legal personality under public law and granted it broad organizational and operation autonomy.

CONSOB is a member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions and the Committee of European Securities Regulators. Lamberto Cardia, CONSOB chairman, represents the organization on the Committee.