Institutional cooperation

The growing integration of the financial markets and the development of the international activity of institutions require greater institutional cooperation with other authorities involved in the supervision and regulation of the financial sector, both at a national and international level.

At a national level, Banco de Portugal has established bilateral cooperation agreements with Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários (the Portuguese Securities Market Commission) and Instituto de Seguros de Portugal (the Portuguese Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority).

In accordance with Article 81 of the Legal Framework of Credit Institutions and Financial Companies, Banco de Portugal cooperates with supervisory authorities and other competent authorities performing equivalent functions in other European Union Member States and also with supervisory authorities of non-European Union Member States within the scope of cooperation agreements concluded between Banco de Portugal and the aforementioned authorities.

Thus, Banco de Portugal entered into bilateral agreements with supervisory authorities from different countries and territories, taking into account the relevance of their markets for Portuguese institutions or the relevance of their institutions’ activities in Portugal.

Multilateral cooperation agreements were established in relation to the banking groups with presence in various Member States, in order to structure the cooperation within the colleges of supervisors.

Memoranda of understanding have also been agreed with other entities, such as the Attorney Generals' Office and the Criminal Police.

In addition, Banco de Portugal is part of the European System of Financial Supervision and participates in a number of bodies and fora for multilateral cooperation, in particular:

• At a national level: Conselho Nacional de Supervisores Financeiros (National Council of Financial Supervisors) and Comité Nacional para a Estabilidade Financeira (National Financial Stability Committee);
• At an international level: European Banking Authority (EBA), European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), European Commission, European Central Bank and Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF).

Banco de Portugal is also part of Conselho Nacional de Supervisão de Auditoria - CNSA (National Council of Audit Supervision), aimed at strengthening confidence in and the credibility of the activity of statutory auditors and audit firms in Portugal.