SIFMA Statement on FSOC Changes to its Non-Bank SIFI Designation Process

Release Date: February 5, 2015
Contact: Liz Pierce, 212.313.1173, [email protected]

SIFMA Statement on FSOC Changes to its Non-Bank SIFI Designation Process

New York, NY, February 5, 2015– SIFMA today issued the following statement from Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., president and CEO, in response to the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) announcementthat it is making changes to enhance transparency in its process for evaluating if a non-bank financial institution should be designated as systemically important:

“SIFMA and in particular SIFMA’s Asset Management Group recognize FSOC for making changes to enhance transparency in its process for considering if a non-bank financial firm should be designated as a systemically important financial institution (SIFI). Given the significant impact a SIFI designation is intended to have on a company, financial markets and the U.S. economy, we appreciate FSOC’s passage of an improved set of engagement metrics for designating nonbank financial institutions.

“These due process enhancements will help ensure that potential designees have a right to address and provide context for specific activities that the regulators believe give rise to contagion risk and may use as a basis for SIFI designation. It is important to ensure that a firm’s primary regulator weighs in early and serves as part of the various analytical teams central to the process. We look forward to further engagement with FSOC on these and other FSOC-related issues and appreciate the additional time to comment on the Notice Seeking Comment on Asset Management Products and Activities.”