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Abstract
In an interview, Jean-Paul Servais, the Brussels-based chairman of the Financial Services and Markets Authority in Belgium, talked about structured products and offers his insights into the new regulations that are to be introduced in the region this year. Prior to the creation of the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) in April 2011, Belgium's financial sector supervisory body was called the Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission (CBFA). It was a single regulator, supervising the Belgian market. Up until 2008, before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the rules covering structured products in Belgium were fully compliant with European legislation, with some addition powers held by the CBFA concerning, for instance, the control of publicity. Some investors lost part of their investment because they were invested in products guaranteed by Lehman Brothers. During the litigation on the matter, they had to explain from a technical point of view how things had played out.