President Joe Biden’s top economic advisers have expressed confidence in US market regulators, saying they should be less concerned with speculation and volatility than with ensuring that the “underlying sanitation facilities” are sound.
This is the task of the US Securities Commission “and if you read their statements, you will find that they are very concerned about this case,” Jared Bernstein, a member of Biden’s Board of Economic Advisers, told Fox News. Sunday.”
His comments followed a week of Wall Street frenzy centered on the video game retailer GameStop Corp. which burned hedge funds and calls by some Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, for the SEC to address market manipulation.
“What’s happening with GameStop is just a reminder of what’s been happening on Wall Street for years and years and years,” Warren told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “It’s time for the SEC to give up the duff and do its job.”
The SEC operates under the leadership of interim President Allison Herren Lee, while Biden awaits confirmation from the Senate of Gary Gensler, his choice to lead the agency.
“The president’s main concern is that the responsible regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, must ensure that there is no volatility and speculation in the market – this is a constant – but that the basic facilities of the financial markets remain sound,” he said. Bernstein.
Read more: Confirming Gensler nowhere in sight as GameStop tests the role of the SEC
The SEC said Friday that it “closely monitors the extreme price volatility of certain stock trading prices in recent days” and reviews “actions taken by regulated entities that may disadvantage investors or unduly inhibit their ability to trade certain securities.” ”.
Lawmakers on both sides wondered last week why platforms like Robinhood Markets Inc. restricted trading in some companies whose share prices rose after being promoted on social media.
Read more: GameStop Short Nightmare shows some signs of becoming a contagion
Brian Deese, head of Biden’s National Economic Council, said last week’s stock market fluctuations were “properly investigated” by the SEC, with “a real focus on protecting retail investors and market integrity.”
He suggested that the administration could try to broaden its monitoring, saying that “we will carefully analyze the broader policy questions associated with equity markets”.
The chairs of two House and Senate committees pledged last week to held hearings on recent recirculations on the stock market, but no data were announced.