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News and Press Releases |
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HEADLINE:
Investor Protection To Be SEC Priority
By: Adrian Michaels and Joshua Chaffin
FinancialTimes.com. November 18, 2003
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EXCERPT: The Securities and Exchange Commission has finalised plans for its new risk assessment office, a cornerstone of efforts to counter criticism that it is not acting quickly enough to protect investors. William Donaldson, SEC chairman, is likely to face some tough questions at a Senate hearing on Tuesday over the agency's record in spotting problems. Eliot Spitzer, New York's attorney-general, has often been able to steal the agency's limelight, most recently on the mutual fund scandal, and has been a frequent critic. Although the SEC has been underfunded in the past, Mr Donaldson concedes that the time for excuses is over, people close to the agency say. He is keen to portray the new Office of Risk Assessment, which will be set up in the next few weeks, as a crucial part of changing the way the agency works. The office, the people say, will have a director and five staff. They will gather data on trends and risks to identify new areas of concern, ideally before the problems become more serious. Separately, each SEC division will have its own risk assessment staff. The enforcement division has already taken steps in this area to improve its intelligence gathering, in part reflecting frustration at a lack of timely referrals received by enforcement staff from other parts of the agency. The SEC's division heads will sit on an overall risk management committee. Mr Donaldson's new creed, people close to the agency say, is a "doctrine of no surprises".
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