The View From Washington

In this video series, we gather the most influential voices shaping today’s capital markets to examine the client first focus, what our industry is invested in, the clash between prudential and capital markets supervision, and what’s to come for the remainder of 2020 and onward.

Outgoing Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) President and chief executive officer Lynnette Kelly and Chair of the Board Gary Hall sit down with SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. to discuss the landscape for municipal securities. From the Retrospective Rule Review to moving to the cloud, watch their discussion for insight into the primary regulator of the municipal securities markets and what matters most for the marketplace.

Financial Conduct Authority CEO Andrew Bailey and Federal Reserve Bank of New York President and CEO John C. Williams sit down with SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. to discuss the transition from LIBOR to alternative reference rates. From the development of the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) to a path for tough legacy contracts, watch their discussion to understand the urgent need for the financial industry to engage with this issue now.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and SIFMA Executive Vice President and General Counsel Ira Hammerman discuss Regulation Best Interest. The new, nationwide best interest standard was finalized in June 2019 and imposes a materially heightened standard of conduct for broker-dealers when serving retail clients.

SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. delve into priority issues for the Commission. Clayton outlines the status of priority issues under the SEC’s Reg-Flex Agenda – akin to a roadmap of its current priorities – including finalization of Regulation Best Interest (expected later this year), harmonization of Dodd-Frank Title VII regulations and improvements to the proxy process. Clayton and Bentsen also discuss equity market structure and market data, the Consolidated Audit Trail, cybersecurity, MiFID II, Brexit and more.

In the first episodes of a new video series, “A View from Washington,” Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo and SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. take a deep dive into the priority issues the Commission plans to tackle in the coming months. Chairman Giancarlo provides insight into five timely CFTC workstreams: an update on last year’s CFTC Cross-Border white paper, next steps on the proposed SEF trading rule, the final phase of implementation of initial margin, progress on inter-agency harmonization, and the Chairman’s priorities in the remaining months of his tenure.