Financial regulatory authorities include those in charge of bank supervision; of securities regulation, often referred to as securities commissions; of anti-money laundering supervision of financial firms; and of consumer protection in financial services, and more generally of enforcing "conduct-of-business" requirements, not to mention macroprudential regulation.
Different jurisdictions have addressed the challenge of organizing financial regulation in multiple ways that have often evolved over time and display significant path dependence.
In general, three types of financial supervisory architecture have been identified by scholars: As of 2023, examples of sectoral architecture include Brazil, Hong Kong, and India; examples of integrated architecture include Japan, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, and South Korea; and examples of twin-peaks architecture include Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
China, the European Union, and the United States have more complex supervisory systems that defy simple classification.
Several international or global bodies have financial regulatory authorities as their main membership.