FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, April 5, 2017 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Better Markets Senior Securities Policy Advisor, Lev Bagramian, will be testifying before the Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee during its April 5, 2017 meeting. WHO: Lev Bagramian, Senior Securities Policy Advisor WHAT: EMSAC testimony WHEN: April 5, 2017 Mr. […]
It’s rare that a question during a Congressional hearing leaves an entire panel of witnesses silent. But, that is exactly what happened when Representative Jim Himes’ (D-CT) questioned the panel of five witnesses during a hearing by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital, Markets, and Investment. The subject of the hearing was “Examining the […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, March 29, 2017 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued the following statement following the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment hearing on the impact of the Volcker Rule: “SIFMA, the Chamber of Commerce and every […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, January 4, 2017 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued this statement following the announced nomination of Jay Clayton to Chair the Securities and Exchange Commission: “While Mr. Clayton may be an excellent lawyer representing Goldman Sachs and Wall Street’s […]
“I don’t think this is a political issue and it isn’t a partisan issue,” said Mr Weiss. “It is a question of the basic functioning of US debt markets.” Read the full Financial Times article by Joe Rennison here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, November 29, 2016 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] SEC Committee Reaches a New Low by Voting Against Recommendation for the SEC to Regularly Obtain Investors’ Views and Opinions Washington, D.C. – Lev Bagramian, Senior Securities Policy Advisor for Better Markets, today issued this statement following the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Equity […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, November 15, 2016 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] CAT PLAN FAILS TO PROTECT INVESTORS, RID MARKET OF DISRUPTIVE AND MANIPULATIVE PRACTICES Washington, D.C. – Lev Bagramian, Senior Securities Policy Advisor at Better Markets, issued this statement on today’s approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Consolidated Audit Trail […]
A Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to place caps on registered investment firms’ exposures to derivatives is showing the hallmarks of a classic Washington battle — the industry is trying to tamp down advocacy groups’ requests for broad regulations. Although the SEC hasn’t announced its plans, lobbyists who have been watching the derivatives rule expect the agency […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission is caught in the middle of a regulatory tug of war in its final months under President Obama. The financial industry and advocates for tougher rules on Wall Street are jockeying for influence over the agency’s unfinished agenda. Financial regulators across the board have been working on a slew of […]
Big Wall Street banks are asking the U.S. Federal Reserve to grant them an additional five-year grace period to comply with a financial reform regulation known as the Volcker rule, people familiar with the matter said. If the Fed agrees, the extension would give banks more time to exit fund investments that are difficult to […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, August 8, 2016 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, sent the attached letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Jo White today requesting that she promptly terminate the so-called Disclosure Effectiveness Initiative (and the related Regulation S-K Concept […]
On August 14, 2014, the SEC published a final rule (“Rule”) adopting a collection of reforms applicable to money market funds (“MMFs”). Although the Rule contained an incremental and incomplete set of measures, it nevertheless was a positive step forward. One of the most important components of the Rule was a requirement that all institutional […]
Long-term Investors and Innovators Win Along with IEX, But the Fight Has Really Just Begun: Better Markets’ President and CEO Dennis Kelleher congratulated IEX founder and CEO Brad Katsuyama and President Ronan Ryan in person last week at a Themis Trading/Cowen conference on market structure. The SEC granting IEX’s exchange application was a big win for IEX, long-term investors and […]
“The upstart IEX’s application to become a full-fledged stock exchange was contentious as it awaited approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Once the SEC announced on Friday evening that IEX had won approval, though, lawmakers who had earlier submitted worrying comments about the possible market effects were quiet about the approval. IEX has been a […]
Below is the list of people and organizations that IEX thanks on its website for supporting its application before the SEC to become and exchange: AGF Investment Inc. Abel/Noser Corp. Adelante Capital Management Aj Deccristifaro Albie Shamess Alex E. Sarly Alex Glatt Alex Simonelis Alexander Gloy Allan Glennon Allianz Global Investors Andrew Kenyon Andrew Metzger […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, June 17, 2016 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued this statement on the vote today by the Securities and Exchange Commission approving IEX’s application to establish a formal stock exchange: “Today’s fragmented equity capital markets are too often rigged by […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, June 14, 2016 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued this statement following the release of a letter sent by Senators Menendez (D-NJ), Warren (D-MA), Gillibrand (D-NY), Schumer (D-NY), Sanders (I-VT), Merkley (D-OR), and Blumenthal (D-CT) calling on the Securities […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, June 14, 2016 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued this statement following the Senate Banking Committee hearing titled, “Oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission”: “The American political system is being polluted by a tidal wave of dark […]
By Lev Bagramian, Better Markets Senior Securities Policy Advisor The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is on the verge of making a pivotal decision that could mark the beginning of a new era in which private sector solutions help close serious regulatory gaps in our equity trading markets. Or, it could signal more of the […]
” The memo landed on a Sunday in November. It was 2007, and securities backed by subprime mortgages were roiling markets and imperiling banks. Merrill Lynch Chief Executive Officer Stan O’Neal had just resigned under pressure, and Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince was rumored to be on his way out. So the Nov. 4 memo to employees […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, May 24, 2016 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued this statement on the release of a fiscal 2017 financial services funding bill that would cut the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) budget: “The House Appropriations’ Financial Services Subcommittee bill could […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, April 27, 2016 Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, D.C. – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued this statement on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) release for public comment of a plan to build a consolidated audit trail (CAT) for the equity and options markets: “Today’s […]
“Even as the nation is gripped by the populist politics of the presidential primaries, special interests continue to shape the rules of the economy in the shadows. Last year, a market regulator called the Financial Accounting Standards Board released a proposal that could make it easier for corporations to withhold important financial information from shareholders. This […]
“Typically thoughtful but provocative statement by Dennis Kelleher, one of the behind-the-scenes architects of the Dodd-Frank law and now head of the advocacy group Better Markets. Kelleher told Morning Exchange that U.S. banks’ dire first quarter results are a sign “that the banks haven’t won and that taxpayers are better off.” “How so? Kelleher, who […]
Our public securities markets are essential for companies large and small to access capital and for our economy to grow. That requires investors, also large and small, to have faith and confidence in our markets and trust that they are relatively fraud-free and fair. Without that, people don’t invest in stocks, companies don’t get funded, […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, March 14, 2016 Contact: Shanessa Bryant, 202-618-6433 or [email protected] Critical Questions that Should Be Asked at the Senate Banking Committee Confirmation Hearing for SEC Nominees Lisa Fairfax and Hester Peirce Washington, DC — The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on the nominations of Lisa Fairfax and Hester Peirce […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, March 11, 2016 Contact: Shanessa Bryant, 202-618-6433 or [email protected] Washington, DC — Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher released the following statement regarding today’s CFTC announcement that the industry drafted biased report from its Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee on position limits is being withdrawn: “The CFTC’s repudiation today […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, March 3, 2016 Contact: Shanessa Bryant, 202-618-6433 or [email protected] Better Markets Applauds Sen. Mark Warner’s Demand that the SEC Act on the Long Overdue Consolidated Audit Trail Washington, DC — Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher released this statement following remarks by Senator Mark Warner at today’s Senate Subcommittee on […]
“An investigation into allegations that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in-house judges are prodded to favor the agency in enforcement cases did not uncover evidence to support those claims, the agency’s watchdog said in a report.” “The investigation by the SEC’s Office of Inspector General followed a May 6, 2015 story in the Wall Street […]
“The Securities and Exchange Commission’s budget would increase to $1.78 billion for fiscal year 2017 under the White House’s Feb. 9 budget request, in a step toward the administration’s stated goal of doubling the agency’s funding by 2021.” *** “Grossly underfunding [the SEC] has allowed some on Wall Street to return to their high-risk pre-crash […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, February 9, 2016 Contact: Jeff Gohringer, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Better Markets Applauds the President for Budget Request that Funds the SEC and CFTC Cops on the Wall Street Beat Washington, DC — Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher released this statement on President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget request, which […]
“As the American people’s cop on the Wall Street beat, the Securities and Exchange Commission should prioritize market integrity and investor protection. But unfortunately, the SEC has largely been missing in action just seven years after the financial crisis that cost our economy trillions and hurt many American families who lost their homes, jobs, savings […]
On Tuesday, November 17, 2015 Better Markets Senior Fellow Robert Jenkins delivered the keynote address at the Finance Watches Conference on “Confidence, ethics, and incentives in the financial sector”. His speech “When Timidity Triumphs…” highlights the challenges within our banking system when financial institutions are “too big to fail, bail and jail,” and the need to restore accountability […]
“In the latest example of the dominance of financial services interests in Washington, a committee set up by the Securities and Exchange Commission supposedly to ensure that our equity markets serve the public interest includes representation by firms accused of the very kinds of wrongdoing such an effort should combat. “In response to intense public […]
“Federal regulators want to restrict J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s ability to raise funds for clients, in an effort to impose a broader range of consequences on financial firms accused of breaking the rules, according to people familiar with the matter. “J.P. Morgan has already agreed to pay more than $200 million to resolve allegations […]
Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, appeared on MarketWatch’s “Moneylife” program with Chuck Jaffee on October 27th 2015 to discuss the SEC’s Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee (EMSAC). Listen to the program here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, October 26, 2015 Contact: Jeff Gohringer, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Better Markets Statement Ahead of Tomorrow’s SEC Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee Meeting **Click here to view the recent letter to SEC Chair White** Washington, DC — Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher issued this statement ahead of the Equity Market […]
“The second meeting of a key group debating how stock markets should operate is scheduled for Tuesday, and there are protests about who and who isn’t participating. “Dennis Kelleher, president of financial reform non-profit Better Markets wants to know why three firms who have “committed or been implicated in serious violations of the law” — […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, October 22, 2015 Contact: Jeff Gohringer, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Better Markets Calls on SEC to Remove Financial Industry Lawbreakers From Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee **Click here to view the letter** Washington, DC — Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher issued this statement on the letter sent to Securities and […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, October 20, 2015 Contact: Jeff Gohringer, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Better Markets Applauds the Nomination of Lisa Fairfax to Serve as a Commissioner on the Securities and Exchange Commission Washington, DC — Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher issued this statement on President Obama’s nomination of Lisa Fairfax to serve as a […]
“President Obama has nominated Lisa Fairfax and Hester Peirce to fill commissioner vacancies at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). “Fairfax, a professor at George Washington University Center for Law, is a favorite of activist groups. Dennis of Better Markets applauded the nomination of Fairfax. “As the American people’s cop on the Wall Street beat, the […]
“Is the fragility of market liquidity a reason for concern? The “flash rally” in US Treasury bonds in October 2014 and the “German tantrum” in April 2015 show that dislocations can occur even in markets for highly liquid assets. A rise in US interest rates might cause more disruption. Some add that new regulations constrain […]
“The penalty the U.S. government just levied on one of the highest ranking former officials of Fannie Mae wouldn’t even buy a used Volkswagen diesel Sportwagen. “On Monday afternoon, Thomas Lund settled charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission back in 2011 that he helped deceive shareholders of Fannie Mae in the run-up to […]
“A district court judge in the US has thrown out investor lawsuits against Barclays and a host of exchanges, dismissing claims that the bank rigged its “dark pool” trading venue in of high-frequency traders. “The multi-district litigation was part of a litany of claims set off by Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt, Michael Lewis’s […]
“The sharp drop in the stock and commodities markets on Monday raised some critical questions for policymakers, touching on everything from whether asset managers are systemically risky to if the central bank would now delay raising interest rates. “The upheaval was not necessarily unexpected, as several analysts and even Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen […]
Listen to the Corporate Crime Reporter Morning Minute for August 21, 2015 on the SEC’s $180 million settlement with Citigroup for defrauding investors by Russell Mokhiber here.
Washington, DC — Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher released this statement following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to grant Citigroup a waiver in the face of its egregious conduct, continuing its secretive slap-on-the-wrist waiver process: “Citigroup and its affiliates (Citi) are a one-bank crime spree. Since 2008, Citi has been sanctioned, […]
Washington, DC — Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher released this statement on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) nearly $180 million settlement with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Citigroup Alternative Investments LLC: “Fining Citigroup or its affiliates, yet again for yet more law breaking, seven years after these funds collapsed during the financial […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, August 5, 2015 Contact: Jeff Gohringer, 202-618-6430 or [email protected] Washington, DC — Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher released this statement on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) votes regarding the registration of security-based swap (SBS) dealers and major SBS participants (SBS Entities): “The SEC is supposed to be the […]
“Executives from two of the biggest names in corporate-bond trading said concern about liquidity is overdone.” *** “Dennis Kelleher, president of Better Markets, which advocates for more stringent financial regulation, challenged some oft-cited statistics in the debate, including the decrease in dealer inventories. The drop in inventories of corporate bonds is small and is made […]
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