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News and Press Releases |
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HEADLINE:
SEC To Accept Reed's NYSE Governance Plan Next Week, People Say
By: Staff Writer
Bloomberg.com. December 11, 2003
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EXCERPT: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission plans next week to approve New York Stock Exchange Chairman John Reed's new board and corporate-governance plan, people familiar with the matter said. The SEC vote, scheduled for Dec. 17 in Washington, is the last step for approving Reed's changes at the world's largest stock exchange. The SEC plans to examine the NYSE's operations again next year as part of a broader review of U.S. market structure, SEC Chairman William Donaldson has said.
``Investors will definitely want to see more,'' said Richard Koppes, a former general counsel at the California Public Employees Retirement System, now with the Jones Day law firm. ``Is the SEC's work over on this? Hopefully not.'' Reed, appointed interim chairman in September, drafted his plan after the ouster of former NYSE Chairman Richard Grasso over his $188 million pay package. Grasso's salary was approved by a board whose members came from the securities firms and listed companies that are regulated by the exchange. Donaldson has publicly supported Reed's board proposal.
At next week's meeting, one or two commissioners on the five- member SEC may call for separating the NYSE chairman's post from the job of chief executive, although no specific language on dividing the two positions will be added to the plan, the people said. Reed's plan doesn't address the issue of dividing the two jobs. Unveiled last month, Reed's plan calls for a smaller NYSE board, reduced to eight seats from 27, and excludes board members affiliated with the securities industry or companies that list on the exchange. `Radical' Change The new board would oversee the exchange's regulatory unit and set its budget, as well as set the salaries for NYSE executives, according to Reed's proposal. A former co-chairman of Citigroup Inc., Reed also created a 20 to 25-member advisory panel comprised of NYSE members, Wall Street firms, investors and listed companies. Donaldson, who was NYSE chairman before Grasso, told a congressional hearing last month that Reed's proposal marked a ``radical'' change and deserved a chance to succeed. Some investors and members of Congress have criticized the plan for not creating a separate regulatory arm that would police the Big Board like the National Association of Securities Dealers oversees the Nasdaq Stock Market.
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