On December 13 of this year, the Decree with Force of Law No. 10 of the Ministry of Finance was published in the Official Gazette, which set the date of the new Financial Market Commission for operation on December 14, 2017, hereinafter CMF, created by virtue of Law No. 21,000 of February 23, 2017. This new entity will replace the Superintendency of Securities and Insurance (SVS) that will cease to operate effectively on January 14, 2018, generating a term 30 days to implement the necessary changes for the proper functioning of the CMF.

The CMF will have the task of ensuring the proper functioning, development and stability of the financial market, facilitating the participation of market agents and promoting the care of the public faith. Likewise, it must ensure that the persons or entities audited comply with the laws, regulations, statutes and other provisions that govern them.

Any institution, person or activity subject expressly to the control of the Superintendency of Banks and Financial Institutions is outside the competence of the CMF. The pension fund administrators are also out of their control.

In order to achieve its objective, the Commission will maintain the powers already vested in the SVS (for example, issuing regulations, administratively interpreting the legislation under its jurisdiction, investigating complaints or claims and examining all operations, assets, books, accounts, files and documents of the persons, entities or activities audited, among other faculties).

However, important new attributions are added, such as, requiring information related to banking operations of certain persons, even those subject to secrecy or reservation; enter private premises and, if necessary, search and break open with the help of the public force; register and seize all kinds of objects and documents; intercept all kinds of communications (and obtain from telecommunications companies copies and records of the communications transmitted or received by them), and order other public bodies to provide background information, even when they have some cause of secrecy or reservation. These measures will be subject to control and prior authorization of the Courts of Justice.