In an appearance before a House of Representatives panel overseeing federal spending, SEC Chair Gary Gensler defended the agency’s request for a 12% budget increase to respond to burgeoning growth in financial markets and the mounting risk of misconduct.
Gensler said that, with the frequency of stock trades and volume of privately managed assets soaring, “we must be able to meet the match of bad actors.” He also described cryptocurrency markets as a “wild West” that was “rife with non-compliance.”
***
Lawmakers questioned him about conclusions of a recent internal watchdog report that staff attrition and a heavy workload were endangering the quality of rulemaking.
Gensler said turnover was in part driven by the desirability of SEC employees on a competitive labor market.
“We run about 6% attrition right now, which is consistent with other agencies,” he said.
Source: US lawmakers press Wall St regulator over coming climate rule | Reuters
