SEC, FRB Sign MOU Further Solidifying Information Sharing, Cooperation
July 7, 2008
FEI Summary

On July 7, 2008, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox, and Federal Reserve Board (FRB) Chairman Ben Bernanke signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two agencies that will deepen their information sharing and cooperation.  

According to a joint press release issued by the SEC and FRB:

“Under the MOU… the SEC and [FRB] would share information and cooperate across a number of important areas of common interest including anti-money laundering, bank brokerage activities under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, clearance and settlement in the banking and securities industries, and the regulation of transfer agents.”

“The MOU specifically covers bank holding companies and so-called Consolidated Supervised Entities that own securities firms… [and] builds on and formalizes the long-standing cooperative arrangements between the SEC and the Board, as well as the more recent cooperation on matters including banking and investment banking capital and liquidity following the Board's emergency opening of credit facilities to primary dealers.”

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, in a statement issued July 7, said:

 "The MOU finalized between the SEC and the Federal Reserve is consistent with the long-term vision of Treasury's Blueprint for a Modernized Regulatory Structure and should help inform future decisions as our Congress considers how to modernize and improve our regulatory structure."

Prepared July 7, 2008 by Edith Orenstein, Director, Technical Policy Analysis, Financial Executives International (FEI). This summary does not represent FEI opinion unless specifically noted above.