Transcripts

"Commentary"-Repairing Financial Regulations

SUSIE GHARIB: Tonight's commentator says the Feds can't do it alone when it comes to fixing financial regulation. He's Fred Joseph, president of the North American Securities Administrators Association and he's also Colorado's securities commissioner.

FRED JOSEPH, COLORADO SECURITIES COMMISSIONER: As Washington works to transform the financial services regulatory system, we must stay focused on the ultimate goal of restoring the trust and protecting the security of Main Street investors. Regulating financial markets is an enormous challenge, one that can only be met by state and Federal regulators working together to protect the integrity of the marketplace and to shield investors from fraud and abuse. State securities regulators have a century- long record of investor protection and should play a pivotal role in the next generation of financial services regulation. Some have called for a new Federal bureaucracy to oversee the nation's financial industry and markets. But one size doesn't fit all -- a large, consolidated Federal regulator is no substitute for an accessible, proactive presence in communities nationwide. As the regulators closest to investors, state securities regulators provide indispensable investor protections through enforcement, licensing, compliance examinations and financial literacy programs. Last year, for example, state-led investigations into the auction rate securities market meltdown led to settlements with major Wall Street firms to return $50 billion to auction rate securities investors. That's smart, strong regulation, the kind that investors deserve and that the Obama administration promises to give to the American people to protect them amid the challenges facing our financial markets. I'm Fred Joseph.