House FinServ today held a well-attended oversight hearing on the SEC’s operations, regulatory agenda, and FY 2015 budget, with Chair White as the sole witness. GOP Members continued their criticism of the OFR’s investigation into systemic risk in asset management (see FSM Report SYSTEMIC69), with Chair White assuring Chairman Hensarling (R-TX) and others that asset-management firms are not unregulated and under the Commission. Republicans also pressed Ms. White repeatedly for details on the FSOC’s SIFI designation process (see FSM Report SYSTEMIC65, although the chair refused to discuss specific cases. Meanwhile, Democratic Members inquired about the agency’s oversight of high-frequency trading (HFT), its coordination with the Department of Labor on fiduciary standards for broker-dealers (see FSM Report INVESTOR10), and proposed MMF reform (see Client Report MMF11). Chair White stuck firmly to her previous comments on each of these issues, assuring that they are all top priorities for the agency this year without offering any specifics. This report analyzes today’s hearing.
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