Schapiro Testifies on SEC's Priorities

SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro testified today Concerning SEC Oversight: Current State and Agenda before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government-Sponsored Enterprises.  Here is an excerpt:

We are:

• working to fill regulatory gaps exposed by the economic crisis;
• seeking to strengthen standards governing broker-dealers and investment advisers;
• enhancing disclosure provided to investors;
• streamlining enforcement procedures and focusing on cases that will have the greatest impact;
• revamping the system for handling the approximately one million tips and complaints we receive annually;
• improving our risk assessment capabilities;
• bolstering our internal training; and
• bringing on new leadership and new skill sets throughout the agency.

While we can never stop every scam artist scheming to defraud investors, I believe these and other changes will greatly improve our odds of catching them. Indeed, in the wake of the Madoff fraud, I believe we owe it to investors to show them that we can and will adapt our ways and learn from our past errors so that we do not repeat them.