Congressman Canseco's Opening Statement from the Financial Services Committee: U.S. Financial Regulators' Settlement Practices

Washington, DC:  Congressman Francisco “Quico” Canseco (TX-23), a former small businessman and member of the House Financial Services Committee, made the following statement on U.S. financial regulators’ settlement practices:

 

“Thank you Mr. Chairman. The mission of the S.E.C. is to ‘maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and to facilitate capital formation.’ Needless to say there remains a serious question as to whether the agency’s settlement policy helps fulfill this mission; yet there is a greater question about the direction of the S.E.C. and how it has been taken over the last several years.” 

 

“Almost half of the agency’s budget goes towards enforcement and examination, and in turn it appears that the agency believes pursuing headline-grabbing settlements is the best way to protect investors, yet the measure of a federal agency’s success should not be how much enforcement revenue it brings in after wrongdoing has already occurred – rather, in the case of the S.E.C., it should be whether ‘fair, orderly, and efficient’ markets are being maintained.  With this in mind, I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today on this matter,” concluded Congressman Canseco.  

 

To schedule an interview please contact Kyler Arnold at (202) 225-4511 or Kyler.Arnold@mail.house.gov