SEC eyes public reporting amid US Treasury reporting rules

SEC chair, Mary Jo White, said in keynote speech that public reporting is next critical step for the US regulator.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) chair, Mary Jo White, has said public reporting for US Treasury transactions is the next critical step the regulator is considering.

In a keynote address at a US Treasury conference in New York, White explained to delegates that public reporting is “a question of ‘how best’ to deliver public transparency, not ‘whether’ to do so.”

She asserted: “I am committed to working with my fellow regulators to arrive at the optimal solution.”

White also defended the newly approved reporting requirements for US Treasury transactions.

She explained some commenters expressed concern that the reporting rules only applied to members of the Financial Industry Regualtory Authority (FINRA). 

White added those commenters believed it “would result in a competitive disparity, given that non-FINRA member firms also trade US Treasury securities.”

She added that some had said an audit trail consisting only of transactions effected by FINRA members “would not provide regulators with a comprehensive understanding of the market without the same requirements for bank-dealers.”

The Federal Reserve Board recently announced plans to enter into negotiations with the SEC to collect data from banks for US Treasury transactions.

Commenting on this, White said she was pleased with the announcement and the possibility of FINRA acting as an agent on behalf of the Federal Reserve Board.

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