WASHINGTON, D.C. —   Stephen Hall, Legal Director and Securiteis Specialist, issued the following statement in connection with the latest court decision nullifying an important SEC rule:

“Upholding the SEC’s rule should have been a no-brainer for the judge.  But the courts in Texas and the Fifth Circuit have come to resemble a Disney resort for the business associations that constantly fight the SEC in court:  The industry loves to visit, they generally get everything they want, yet the decisions served up by the courts are divorced from the law and reality.

“This rule simply required some increasingly dominant players in our markets to register as dealers so that the SEC could more effectively oversee their activities.  Among the market participants it covered were the high-frequency traders that have become a dominant force, scalping millions of everyday investors with their sophisticated computers and raking in virtually guaranteed profits on a daily basis.  It also would have encompassed large participants in the rapidly growing crypto industry, which seeks to offer high-risk crypto securities to Main Street America.  As we said in our amicus brief, this rule was a modest, appropriate, and necessary response to the modern trends in the markets; it posed no threat to ‘innovation’ and was entirely workable for the massively wealthy financial firms it covered; and it resulted from a thorough rulemaking process that included a close examination of the economic impacts of the rule.

“This is not really a surprising outcome, but the ongoing spectacle of good rules being struck down again and again by courts known for their bias in favor of industry is very disheartening, because it will ultimately harm the American people, the vitality and integrity of our markets, and the SEC’s authority to do what Congress always intended.”

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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.