The Insurance Bureau of Canada has backed a recommendation to replace the Financial Services Commission of Ontario with a new independent regulatory agency.

The IBC commented today on the final report from the Expert Panel, which reviewed the mandate of the FSCO. The panel recommended that the Ontario government replace the FSCO with a new regulatory agency – the Financial Services Regulatory Authority. Such a move, the panel said, would modernize the province’s financial services regulation.

The Expert Panel’s report built on the recommendations of a preliminary report released last fall, and aligns with input from the property and casualty insurance industry, according to an IBC release.

The IBC praised the panel’s recommendation.

“Given the rapid pace of change in the financial world, we believe the new regulator needs to be nimble and foster a strong, vibrant and innovative fionancial services sector,” said Kim Donaldson, IBC’s vice president for Ontario. “The regulator must be an effective model for excellence for financial sector regulation in Ontario, with a mission to protect and promote a broad rance of consumer interests in a manner that is proactively responsive to changing consumer needs, as well as adaptive to new and sometimes disruptive future technology.

The IBC said it would encourage the government to implement the recommended changes quickly, and to announce them as early as this fall’s economic statement.