Gary Gensler, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is under increasing pressure to implement the agency’s plans before the midterm elections that could swing political control to Republicans.
“In a speech Wednesday, Mr. Gensler said his priorities for this year are focused around increasing efficiency in the $100 trillion capital markets that the SEC oversees and on updating agency rules for modern technology,” according to The Wall Street Journal. “A key goal is to reduce the amount of money that companies raising capital and their investors spend on fees.”
SPAC-driven mergers overwhelmed SEC staff, it added, which resulted in the SEC taking longer than Gensler anticipated to propose a rule requiring public companies to report more information about the risks they face from climate change.
Yet, a key goal remains “reducing the amount of money that companies raising capital and their investors spend on fees.”
“Gensler’s top priorities in the coming months will likely be to advance rules that Republicans have expressed the most concerns about,” the Journal wrote. “Aside from the climate-change initiative, these include forthcoming proposals to require more information from public companies about their workforces, and from asset managers about the criteria they use when touting the sustainability of their investment products.”
Gensler, who taught a class on cryptocurrencies at MIT and is widely regarded as an expert in digital assets, has also wrestled with its regulation.
In a hearing before the House Committee on Financial Services in October, Gensler said the agency will not ban cryptocurrency, arguing a ban should instead be up to Congress.
Republicans have already complained that the SEC is moving too fast.
“In a joint letter to Mr. Gensler on Jan. 10, they criticized the ‘unreasonably’ short comment periods provided for several of the rules that the SEC has proposed, such as an effort to shore up some money-market mutual funds,” the paper concludes.