When Roel Campos stepped down from the Securities and Exchange Commission last Tuesday, after serving as a member since August 2002, he left behind a commission that is now evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. No candidates have been named to replace Campos, who has joined law firm Cooley Godward Kronish's Washington D.C. office, and the newly divided SEC may remain so for some time, possibly until after the 2008 elections. One likely outcome of the shifting balance of power will be a more influential role for Republican Paul Atkins, an outspoken opponent of many of the agency's recent market reforms such as hedge fund registration and independent directors for mutual funds. On Sept. 13, Atkins, speaking before the Securities Trades Association of Boston, addressed the SEC's recent rulemakings and attacked one of his favorite targets, Regulation National Market System (NMS), which he called "unworkable." A slightly edited version of the speech follows.
There are major structural changes taking place here in the U.S. markets, as well as in the international markets. ... These changes, along with the recent subprime problems, are happening at a time of concern about the competitiveness of the U.S. capital markets. This concern has been manifested, in part, in three major reports on U.S. competitiveness. Each of these reports contains recommendations, including some aimed at improving SEC rules and procedures. A constant theme in the reports is that excessive, overlapping and unnecessary regulation in the U.S. is a major reason for our loss of market share in the global capital markets.
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