Today I had the pleasure of commenting on Chairman Jay Clayton’s remarks at the Brookings Institute, along with Davis Polk’s Annette Nazareth, Sifma’s Ken Bentsen, and Nasdaq’s Thomas Witten.
The video is here.
My impressions:
- Chairman Clayton is nuanced, and careful. (In other words, what you’d expect from a Sullivan & Cromwell partner!).
- Enforcement will be a focus for the agency.
- There will be a push to make technical changes to not just Dodd Frank (and especially the Volcker Rule), but also to a range of issues relating to “capital formation.”
- These changes, though technical, could collectively—and even individually—presage a considerable liberalization of capital-raising.
- There will be a fiduciary rule (but there is no indication as to how strong it will be)
- The SEC will probably not be as eager to address fintech from the standpoint of cultivating innovation as some of its peers. But it is acutely aware of cybersecurity risks.
- Surprisingly little was said about the SEC’s international agenda, even as Brexit, MiFid II and a host of other issues will land at the agency, one way or another.