U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler testifies during a House Financial Services Committee oversight hearing on September 27, 2023 at the Capitol in Washington, DC.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler spoke this morning at the Practical Law Institute’s 56th annual conference on securities regulation.
It sounded like a terrible farewell speech.
“This is a great institution,” Gensler said of the SEC, which he will take over from April 2021.
“It is a tremendous honor to serve alongside them, to carry out their work and to ensure that our capital markets remain the best in the world.”
Mr. Gensler looks back on his achievements
Mr. Gensler reflected on his accomplishments.
Most notably, Gensler highlighted a number of disclosure rules established by the SEC, including disclosures about data breaches, comparisons of executive compensation and performance, and those who control more than 5% of a company’s stock. Includes additional disclosures regarding the potential acquirer.
Gensler mentioned only briefly his most controversial disclosure rules on climate change, which are being challenged in court.
“Congress has enacted important disclosure provisions because information about securities creates a public good,” he said.
Regarding market structure, Gensler introduced new rules for central clearing of U.S. Treasuries, shortening the settlement cycle for stocks from two days to one day, and recently allowed stocks to rise in increments of less than one share. He said the rules had been passed. penny.
Defending cryptocurrency stance
Gensler vigorously defended his approach to cryptocurrencies.
Gensler said that while Bitcoin is not a security, the SEC’s focus is on “some of the 10,000 or so other digital assets, many of which courts have ruled have been offered or sold as securities.” , reiterated its claim that it is subject to the SEC’s authority. .
He reiterated that anyone offering to sell securities must register, and so must intermediaries such as broker-dealers, exchanges, and clearinghouses.
He said the failure to properly police the crypto industry has caused “significant harm to investors” and that “the vast majority of crypto assets have yet to prove a sustainable use case.”
I take pride in serving
Mr. Gensler did not explicitly say he was resigning, but his tone was clear.
At the end of his speech, he said, “I am proud to work with my colleagues at the SEC who work every day to protect American families on the financial highway.”
