SEC Chief Cox Goes Before the House Financial Services Committee

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Christopher Cox and the remaining SEC Commissioners met the House Financial Services committee yesterday. Cox asserted that the commission has not gone soft on big business, that about a dozen investigations of collaterialized debt obligations, a favorite investment of "hedge funds" have started and that the SEC has imposed almost as much in fines in the first half of 2007 as in any previous complete year. Cox emphasized the role of the SEC in protecting investors but acknowledged to Republican lawmakers that costs of class-action lawsuits had been costly. Democrats, including Chairman Barney Frank, pressed action on a proposal to increase opportunities to place a greater number of issues as votes for all investors and to scruntize a pilot program requiring SEC attorneys to get approval from commissioners before negotiating fines and other penalties.

On the overall, I believe that Cox is doing a good job and trying to pay attention to the needs of investors. In these days of discontent with the Bush administration; however, Cox should not be surprised by extra scrutiny.