WASHINGTON, D.C.—Dennis Kelleher, President, CEO and Co-founder of Better Markets, released the following statement in response to President-elect Trump’s announcement of Paul Atkins as his choice to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC):
“Paul Atkins, President-elect Trump’s nominee to lead the SEC, is smart, experienced, and capable. Unfortunately, he is also a deregulation zealot and industry cheerleader who, as a Commissioner at the SEC from 2002-2008, supported deregulation that contributed to the devastating 2008 crash. Learning nothing from that, he formed a consulting firm after leaving the SEC to represent clients fighting against the re-regulation of the financial industry to protect investors and prevent another crash. On top of his deregulation ideology, he has also opposed holding lawbreakers meaningfully accountable.
“The United States’ capital markets are the envy of the world and provide the jet fuel for our economy and prosperity. Investors worldwide send their money to the US because they have faith and trust in those markets which is because they are well-regulated and well-policed. That’s the SEC’s job and, if it again abdicates its mission as it did when Mr. Atkins was a Commissioner in the years before the 2008 crash, then investors, markets and financial stability will suffer. In fact, combined with other actions President-elect Trump has said he will take, there will almost certainly be another financial crash, which will likely be worse than 2008. Remember that the deregulation of banks during the first Trump administration directly caused the 2023 banking crisis.
“Like every agency, the SEC isn’t perfect and can be improved. But the industry isn’t always right and not every regulation or enforcement action is bad. Striking the right balance based on facts and data is key. It would be even better if it was informed by history, including a careful reading of the history of the 1929 crash and the aftereffects, which included generations of Americans who had lost faith in the US markets, which suffered for decades as a result. Investor trust is hard to gain, but easy to lose and, once lost, incredibly difficult to regain. That – and America’s prosperity – is what is at stake if the SEC fails to do its job, if deregulation is always the answer, and if policing the markets is no more than coddling lawbreakers. The US markets are the envy of the world but are not preordained to remain so. That only happens as a result of choices leaders make, the Chair of the SEC foremost among them.”
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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis 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.
