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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in advance of subcommittee hearings featuring U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) General Counsel Megan Barbero, Trading & Markets Division Director Haoxiang Zhu, and Chief Economist Jessica Wachter, the American Securities Association (ASA) sent a letter to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Capital Markets Subcommittee and U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee expressing concerns related to the Agency’s regulatory agenda.
“U.S. markets are the most resilient, most liquid, and most regulated in the world,” said ASA President & CEO Chris Iacovella. “Congressional oversight of the Division of Trading and Markets, the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, and the Office of the General Counsel is important to understand the legal and economic consequences of the SEC’s unprecedented regulatory agenda. The SEC should focus its resources protecting the financial and personal privacy rights of the American public, preserving the functionality of U.S. markets, and protecting the integrity of U.S. markets from the Chinese Communist Party.”
On the SEC’s regulatory agenda, ASA has significant concerns with the SEC’s “fast-tracking” of its agenda, limiting public comment periods and shortcutting economic analysis of rules as required by the Administrative Procedure Act. Iacovella penned an op-ed published highlighting The True Cost of the SEC’s Regulatory Overreach.
Additionally, ASA again raised concerns about the SEC’s collection of personal and financial personally identifiable information (PII) within the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT). ASA has been at the forefront of advocacy to industry and Members of Congress, to remove retail investor PII from the CAT.
On market structure and proposed Best Execution Rule, ASA has concerns that the new requirements go well beyond existing requirements overseen by FINRA and MSRB and would dramatically impact small and mid-size broker businesses that serve retail investors.
Finally, on safeguarding American investors from the Chinese Communist Party, ASA calls on policymakers and regulators to protect investors from the Chinese Communist Party and swiftly and fully implement the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act and Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act.
In April 2023, ASA sent a letter to the full House Financial Services Committee in advance of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s testimony on the Agency’s regulatory developments, rulemakings, and activities.
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About the American Securities Association
American Securities Association, based in Washington, DC, represents the retail and institutional capital markets interests of regional financial services firms who provide Main Street businesses with access to capital and advise hardworking Americans how to create and preserve wealth. ASA’s mission is to promote trust and confidence among investors, facilitate capital formation, and support efficient and competitively balanced capital markets. This mission advances financial independence, stimulates job creation, and increases prosperity. The ASA has a geographically diverse membership of almost one hundred members that spans the Heartland, Southwest, Southeast, Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States.