May 11, 2010

CFTC and SEC Announce Creation of Joint CFTC-SEC Advisory Committee on Emerging Regulatory Issues

Washington, DC - Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro today announced the formation of a joint committee that will address emerging regulatory issues. The establishment of the Joint CFTC-SEC Advisory Committee on Emerging Regulatory Issues was one of the 20 recommendations included in the agencies’ harmonization report issued last year.

The joint committee will develop recommendations on emerging and ongoing issues relating to both agencies. The first item on the committee’s agenda is conducting a review of last Thursday’s market events and making recommendations related to market structure issues that may have contributed to the volatility, as well as disparate trading conventions and rules across various markets.

To orient the Committee’s work, the staff of the CFTC and SEC will provide to the Committee on Monday their joint preliminary findings regarding last Thursday’s market events.

“It is important that we hear from this prominent panel of market practitioners, academics and former regulators about emerging risks in our markets,” Chairman Gensler said. “It is critical that the CFTC and SEC hear from the panel together because our markets are so intertwined. I am particularly interested in the Committee’s first focus: advising on courses of action in response to the lessons learned from the market events of May 6.”

“As last week’s events remind us, our markets are increasingly interrelated and interdependent so we need to appreciate how events in one arena can potentially impact investors and markets elsewhere,” said Chairman Schapiro. “The Joint Committee will serve an essential role in addressing that challenge.”

The Committee’s charter provides for a broad scope of interest, including:

1. Identifying of emerging regulatory risks;

2. Assessing and quantifying of the impact of such risks and their implications for investors and market participants; and

3. Furthering the CFTC’s and SEC’s efforts on regulatory harmonization.

Chairman Gensler and Chairman Schapiro will serve as co-chairs of the Joint Committee.

Members of the Joint Committee include (additional members will join in the coming days):

• Maureen O’Hara, Professor of Management, Professor of Finance, Cornell University

• Brooksley Born, Former Chair of the CFTC

• David Ruder, Former Chair of the SEC

• Jack Brennan, Former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Vanguard

• Robert F. Engle, Michael Armellino Professor of Finance at the NYU Stern School of Business

• Richard Ketchum, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, FINRA

• Susan Phillips, Dean and Professor of Finance, The George Washington University School of Business

Media Contacts
Scott Schneider
202-418-5174

R. David Gary
202-418-5085

Last Updated: May 11, 2010