. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/FIN/22 
2 October 2009 
 (09-4732) 
  
  
 
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE IN FINANCIAL SERVICES TO 
THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES (2009) 
 
 1. Since its last Annual Report to the Council for Trade in Services (S/FIN/20), the Committee 
on Trade in Financial Services has held three fo rmal meetings (on 1 D ecember 2008, 31 March and 
24 June 2009), and several informal meetings.  The reports of the formal meetings are contained in 
documents S/FIN/M/57 to 59.
1  In this period, the Committee addressed the following matters:  the 
acceptance of the Fifth Protocol to the GATS;  techni cal issues;  and recent developments in financial 
services trade.  It also organized a workshop to comme morate the entry into force of the said Protocol, 
and conducted the transitional review of the impl ementation by China of its WTO commitments.  
2. The Committee continued to monitor the status of acceptance of the Fifth Protocol to the 
GATS, which has yet to be accepted by Brazil, Jamaica and the Philippin es.  At the Committee’s 
request, these Members have reported periodically on the situation of their domestic acceptance 
procedures.   
3. A workshop to commemorate the entry into force of the Fifth Protocol to the GATS was held 
on 31 March under the Committee's auspices.  Speakers at the workshop included financial regulators, 
as well as representatives from academia and the priv ate sector.  Issues raised during the discussion 
included the following:  main factors behind th e crisis, both from a regulatory and industry 
perspectives; possible changes to financial regulati on; prospects for the financial services industry; 
and challenges for the financial services negotiati ons.  The workshop was followed by a formal 
meeting of the Committee in the afternoon of 31 March, on which occasion Members discussed some 
of the issues raised at the workshop. 
4. As part of the Committee's work on technical issues, the Chair held informal discussions on 
the following topics:  issues related to mode 1 and 2 commitments on financial services;  Islamic 
finance;  and microfinance.  The background do cuments for those discussions are contained in 
documents Job(09)/6, Job(09)/7, and Job(09)/8.  Following up on those discussions, the Committee 
decided to held dedicated discussions on Islamic fina nce and microfinance at a future meeting, with a 
view to considering issues related to trade in financ ial services, such as classification, trade barriers, 
and scheduling of commitments.   
5. At the meeting on 24 June, several suggestions for further work were made in the context of  
Members' discussions under the agenda items on tec hnical issues and recent developments in financial 
services trade. The United States proposed an info rmation exchange programme on trade in non-life 
insurance services with the goal of increasing Member s’ understanding of this sector.  South Africa 
announced the intention to submit a proposal to discu ss certain aspects of the financial crisis and the 
policy response to it from the perspective of trade in financial services.  Finally, Pakistan also 
announced its intention to submit a proposal to discuss issues related to the development of e-banking.  
                                                      
1 These reports should be read in conjunction with this annual report. S/FIN/22 
Page 2  
 
  6. At its meeting on 1 December 2008, the Committee carried out the seventh transitional review 
of the implementation by China of its WTO commi tments and of the related provisions of the 
Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China (WT/L/432), pursuant to section 18 of the said Protocol.  The report of that review is contained in document S/FIN/21.   
 
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