THE NUMBER OF FINANCIAL REGULATORY AUTHORITIES AND FINANCIAL STABILITY: CROSS-COUNTRY EXPERIENCES

Abstract

This paper attempts to provide evidence whether or not the unification of regulatory institutions for different types of financial sector creates challenges for financial stability. From a sample of 91 countries that provide data on the financial unification index and the central bank involvement index, the empirical results reveal that higher financial unification index or the convergence toward a single supervisory institution outside the central bank, in order to control three different sectors (banking, insurance, and securities), is detrimental for financial stability. However, this finding only holds for developed countries, but dissapears for less developed countries. In parallel, the central bank involvement in financial sector supervision has no impact on financial stability in both developed and less developed countries.  Keywords: Supervisory Regimes, Financial Sectors, Financial Stability  JEL Classification: G18, G21, G28