U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler testifies during a House Financial Services Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill on September 27, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler spoke this morning at the Practical Law Institute’s 56th Annual Securities Regulation Conference.
This sounds very close to a valedictory address.
“This is an amazing agency,” Gensler said of the SEC, which he has led since April 2021.
“It has been a great honor to serve alongside them, serving people and ensuring our capital markets remain the best in the world.”
Gensler Reviews Achievements
Gensle reflects on his accomplishments.
Most notably, Gensler highlighted the many disclosure rules issued by the SEC, including disclosures of data breaches, comparison of executive pay and performance, and additional disclosures of those seeking to control and purchase more than 5% of a company.
Gensler made only passing reference to his most controversial climate change disclosure rule, which has been challenged in court.
“Congress enacted important disclosure requirements because information about securities creates a public interest,” he said.
In terms of market structure, Gensler noted that he has enacted new rules for central clearing of Treasury bonds and shortened the stock settlement cycle from two days to one day, and recently passed rules allowing stock quotation increments of less than 1%. Split the money.
Defend crypto stance
Gensler vigorously defended his encryption methods.
Gensler reiterated his assertion that while Bitcoin is not a security, the SEC’s focus “has been on some of the approximately 10,000 other digital assets, many of which have been ruled by courts to be offered or sold as securities” and therefore subject to the SEC supervision.
He again claimed that anyone selling securities would need to register, as would intermediaries such as broker-dealers, exchanges and clearing houses.
He said the failure to properly regulate the crypto industry has resulted in “significant harm to investors” and that “the vast majority of crypto assets have yet to demonstrate sustainable use cases.”
Serve with pride
Gensler stopped short of saying he was resigning, but his tone was clear.
“I am proud to work alongside my colleagues at the SEC who work day in and day out to protect American families on the financial highway,” he said at the end of his speech.
