Press Releases

Release Date: March 24, 2008
Contact:
Travis Larson, (202) 963-7357, tlarson@sifma.org

SIFMA: SEC Should Reform Rule 15a-6 Immediately

Washington, D.C., March 24, 2008 – The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) today issued the following statement after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its “Next Steps for Implementation of Mutual Recognition.”

“Today’s SEC announcement publicly recognizes the importance of moving forward with mutual recognition, but we are concerned that the opportunity to deliver tangible results is slipping away; the clock is ticking, and we urge that the SEC take action now,” said Ira Hammerman, senior managing director and general counsel of SIFMA.  “For example, the SEC could jumpstart this process with modifications to a 19-year old rule, known as 15a-6.  Today, international capital flows are more efficient and US firms more competitive with the help of the Internet, e-mail and other technologies invented in the last two decades.  But with 15a-6 still on the books, firms are forced to meet byzantine requirements written at a time when fax machines were the leading telecommunications tool.”

15a-6 needs to be re-written to reflect the cross-border capabilities of the industry, and the global product demands of its customers.  This would eliminate unnecessary inefficiencies in international financial transactions, increase investment opportunities and improve the competitiveness of the U.S. financial services industry. 

In the longer-term any cross-border regulatory modernization effort will involve developing a “mutual recognition” framework that would recognize comparable regulatory regimes in other countries, as laid out briefly by the SEC.  Importantly, mutual recognition could also increase international investment opportunities and enhance risk diversification in the United States at a time when our economy could benefit significantly from new investment and liquidity.

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The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association brings together the shared interests of more than 650 securities firms, banks and asset managers. SIFMA's mission is to promote policies and practices that work to expand and perfect markets, foster the development of new products and services and create efficiencies for member firms, while preserving and enhancing the public's trust and confidence in the markets and the industry. SIFMA works to represent its members’ interests locally and globally. It has offices in New York, Washington D.C., and London and its associated firm, the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, is based in Hong Kong.