ASA Statement on Combatting Fraud and Exploitation in Our Capital Markets Hearing

WASHINGTON – The American Securities Association (ASA) released the following statement from President and CEO Chris Iacovella ahead of a House Financial Services Committee hearing entitled Safeguarding Main Street: Combatting Fraud and Exploitation in Our Capital Markets.

"ASA commends Chairman Hill and the Committee for their leadership in protecting American investors and advancing policy reforms to stop bad actors from using fraud to exploit our capital markets. Yet one threat continues to demand Washington's immediate attention: the SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail, the single largest concentration of investor data in American history, which remains dangerously exposed to AI-driven cybercriminals and nation-state actors. Truly safeguarding America’s working families must also include the immediate suspension of all collection and retention of retail investor personally and financial information by the CAT."

ASA has been at the forefront of consumer and investor advocacy on fraud and cybersecurity. Last month, ASA outlined policy recommendations to protect American investors from fraud. ASA and Citadel Securities recently filed a lawsuit challenging the SEC's CAT funding order. ASA CEO Iacovella also testified at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on SEC reform.

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The American Securities Association (ASA) 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.