SEC Chair Testimony Before Senate Subcommittee | Key Takeaways
SEC Releases
Introduction
SEC Chair, Paul Atkins, provided a testimony to the United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government earlier this month (June, 2025).
Atkins continues to provide encouraging commentary on how the SEC’s refocusing should provide greater transparency and better economic analysis of regulation.
We have provided key takeaways below from Atkins testimony.
Key Takeaways
- Atkins continues to repeat that “it is a new day at the SEC”, emphasizing his commitment to revert to the core mandates provided by Congress.
- The SEC will not stray from its core three-part mission to protect investors, support capital formation, and maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets.
- The SEC staff has had a net reduction of 447 full-time equivalents, and a headcount reduction of 15%.
- The SEC is taking into consideration any overlap of rules and the regulatory burdens created by the SEC’s rulemaking.
- Regulation must be smart, effective, and appropriately tailored.
- Politics will be kept out of how securities laws and regulations are applied.
- $2.149 billion is the requested SEC budget for FY 2026, a decrease from FY 2025.
Vigilant’s Conclusion
While the industry expresses relief at the comments from the new SEC Chair, it is important that compliance programs continue to focus on high quality performance at a time when businesses are looking to allocate as many resources as possible to development. While it is expected that rulemaking and rule adjusting under the new SEC will be favorable to the industry, we anticipate that investigations and enforcements will not see significant change.
Regulatory investigations and actions can be expensive, time consuming, and stressful for Firms. Partnering with Vigilant can help your team develop a strong culture of compliance that allows you to focus on your business and its goals. Reach out to us today with any questions you may have.