You may not be familiar with the term ’self-regulation’, but you have certainly heard of the Brazilian Advertising Self-Regulation Council, or simply Conar, right?

This initiative emerged on the market at the end of the 1970s with the proposal that the players in the advertising industry themselves create a code of ethics, of voluntary adherence, and that would guide all parties involved. This is one of the oldest and most well-known examples of self-regulation among Brazilians.

There is something similar in the financial and capital markets, created 25 years ago and aiming to maintain the trust of all players, both institutions and investors.

In the context of the capital market, self-regulation aims to fulfill the same objectives as the regulation itself, which are to preserve market integrity, mitigate systemic risks and establish an environment of protection for investors.

Self-regulation emerged as an answer to a recurring question from members at that time: “What can we do to improve the capital market?”

If, on the one hand, the “Plano Real” or Real Plan (1994) had put an end to hyperinflation, brining monetary stability to the country, and privatizations attracted new investors and companies to Brazil, on the other hand, there was a certain stagnation. The idea was to offer the conditions for the capital market to fulfill its role of providing long-term resources for companies.

Accordingly, discussions about the need for self-regulation started, culminating in the publication of the first code, that of Public Offering, on December 9, 1998, thus giving rise to self-regulation for the financial and capital markets.

The initial resistance was soon overcome when the market realized that the rules were much more than just costs for institutions.