LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union's data watchdog has approved a pact to allow regulators from across the world to collaborate on tackling market abuses without falling foul of the bloc's information privacy rules.
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) approved an "administrative arrangement" drawn up by the bloc's European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
Regulators routinely request information from each other to check on suspicious transactions and gather evidence for prosecutions, such as the attempted rigging of the Libor interest rate benchmark.
The EU introduced its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May last year to strengthen personal data privacy rights, giving consumers greater control over their personal information.
U.S. finance regulators have warned that the data rules have started to adversely affect the exchange of cross-border information.
The EDPB said in a statement late on Tuesday that taking into account the commitments being made by the regulators, it considers that the administrative arrangement "ensures appropriate safeguards when personal data will be transferred" from the EU to public bodies in non-EU countries.
Since May regulators have had to use a "public interest" exemption to exchange information on a case-by-case basis for tackling fraud like insider trading or attempts to rig market benchmarks.
(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
