SIFMA recently conducted a survey and released a report assessing how member firms are communicating with their financial advisors (FAs) and how, in turn, FAs are communicating with their clients during this period of unprecedented physical, emotional, and financial challenge.In our latest podcast, SIFMA CEO Ken Bentsen sat down to discuss the findings with our Ken Cella who leads the Edward Jones Client Strategies Group, Kent Christian, President of Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, and E...
Jun 08, 2020•17 min
The global pandemic COVID-19 has caused extreme shocks to our economy and financial markets. A symbol of these unprecedented times, on March 23, the New York Stock Exchange closed its physical floor and moved to fully electronic trading.Ken Bentsen, SIFMA president and CEO, sat down with Ellen Greene, SIFMA's Managing Director of Equity and Options Market Structure and Katie Kolchin, CFA and Director of SIFMA Research, walk us through an analysis by SIFMA Insights to find out whether the closure...
May 13, 2020•14 min
The emergence of COVID-19 in the first quarter of 2020 caused severe shocks to the economy and capital markets. Volatility, as measured by the CBOE Volatility Index, or the VIX, has reached historic highs. The VIX has started to come down, but remains elevated. In this discussion, we ask: is the worst of the market rout behind us?Transcript and more:https://www.sifma.org/resources/news/podcast-vix-and-the-virus/
May 06, 2020•12 min
The latest edition of SIFMA’s podcast series covers a recent development related to the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) – the major regulatory initiative by the SEC and 24 self-regulatory organizations (SROs) aimed at enhancing regulators’ ability to monitor and analyze trading activity. SIFMA and its members are supportive of the CAT and its regulatory intent but remain concerned regarding the risks of sensitive customer information being compiled in one government-mandated database, and the lia...
Apr 28, 2020•10 min
The Federal Reserve, the Department of the Treasury and Congress have undertaken unprecedented actions to buy financial assets, unclog the pipes of the financial system and increase its capacity. Congress has also taken swift action, passing three phases of stimulus packages as of the time of this discussion. In the third and final segment of our series on how COVID-19 is impacting the financial markets, Ken Bentsen, SIFMA President and CEO sits down with Rob Toomey, head of SIFMA’s capital mark...
Apr 09, 2020•30 min
Congress has passed three stimulus packages to combat the severe effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic. In the second of a three-part series on how COVID-19 is impacting the financial markets, we explain each of the three phases of the stimulus, what matters most for the financial markets, and what might lie ahead.Transcript and more:https://www.sifma.org/resources/news/podcast-explaining-the-covid-19-stimulus-packages/
Apr 07, 2020•9 min
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is front and center in the United States and across the world. In this podcast, Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., SIFMA's President and CEO, and Thomas F. Price, SIFMA Managing Director, Technology, Operations and Business Continuity, discuss BCP efforts to protect industry personnel and maintain operational resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic.SIFMA’s Business Continuity Planning team continues to closely monitor the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact on our ...
Mar 17, 2020•8 min
In this podcast, we discuss the long-standing system of arbitration for dispute resolution, and the rather confounding animus toward it by some policymakers. We also talk more specifically about the FINRA arbitration forum, and the securities industry’s experience in that forum.
Mar 03, 2020•6 min
A discussion about the Federal Reserve's 2020 Supervisory Scenarios for the Annual Stress Test, in particular about what changes were made around the Global Market Shock element but also where there is remains room for improvement.
Feb 26, 2020•7 min
With a sustained commitment to addressing the risk of money laundering and financial crime through securities firms, as well as strong collaboration between firms and with the regulatory community, much has been achieved by our industry in helping to make our financial system safer and more secure. With that understanding, however, comes the knowledge there will be much more change to come. In this podcast, SIFMA President and CEO, Kenneth E. Bentsen Jr., is joined by Steve Shine, Chief Regulato...
Jan 29, 2020•14 min
In a speech delivered on Friday January 16, Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Federal Reserve Randal Quarles laid out a suite of changes he intends to make to the central Bank’s oversight of financial institutions, particularly around transparency, accountability, and fairness. In this podcast, we discuss his proposed changes and what they could mean for U.S. capital markets.
Jan 21, 2020•18 min
The Dodd-Frank Act requires large financial institutions to submit resolution plans. In this podcast, SIFMA's Joe Seidel and Carter McDowell discuss significant milestones achieved and what they mean for the U.S. capital markets.
Dec 19, 2019•13 min
The passage of bipartisan legislation, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement – better known as the SECURE Act - marks the biggest legislative change to America’s retirement system in more than a dozen years. In this podcast, SIFMA president and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. and SIFMA managing director and associate general counsel, Lisa Bleier, explain what the SECURE Act means for retirement savers.
Dec 19, 2019•9 min
Under the Consolidated Audit Trail, or CAT, broker-dealers will be required to report every equity and options transaction, as well as certain personal information of retail and institutional clients, to a database operated by 24 SROs.SIFMA and its members are supportive of the CAT and its regulatory intent – however, we have repeatedly expressed strong concerns regarding the risks to customer information. Data security must be a paramount concern with a database this large.In this podcast, SIFM...
Dec 12, 2019•11 min
Welcome to SIFMA’s podcast from our annual State of the Industry media briefing. In this segment, our leadership discusses the state of the capital markets and priority issues for the financial services industry in 2019. Please welcome the Chair of our Board of Directors, Joseph E. Sweeney, President of Advice & Wealth Management, Products and Service Delivery for Ameriprise Financial and SIFMA’s President and CEO, Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr.
Dec 09, 2019•42 min
SIFMA's survey of chief U.S. economists forecasts that the U.S. economy will grow by 2.2% in 2019, with a decrease to 1.8% in 2020. U.S. trade policy, business confidence in the U.S., and private credit market conditions were among the most important considerations in the forecast change. Ellen Zentner, Managing Director and Chief U.S. Economist for Morgan Stanley and Chair of SIFMA's Economic Advisory Roundtable discusses the results from our latest survey. Read the full report: https://www.sif...
Dec 04, 2019•13 min
Quantum Dawn V, a global cybersecurity exercise coordinated by SIFMA, was completed on November 7, 2019. What scenario did participants respond to? In this podcast, SIFMA president and CEO, Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. is joined by Tom Price, SIFMA Managing Director, Operations, Technology & BCP and Tom Wagner, SIFMA Managing Director, Financial Services Operations and Technology. Together, they describe the main takeaways immediately following the exercise and the next steps in communicating the...
Nov 15, 2019•9 min
The FTT or financial transaction tax—a tax on trades of stocks, bonds, and derivatives—is a tax on investors. The imposition of an FTT would increase costs and lower returns for Americans saving for retirement, college, homes, and other investment ideals. FTTs have never lived up to expectations, but instead have only served to increase volatility, harm capital markets, increase costs, and hurt economic growth.In this podcast, Ken Bentsen, SIFMA President and CEO, is joined by Jamie Wall, EVP, A...
Oct 30, 2019•12 min
On October 8, the five federal financial regulatory agencies responsible for the Volcker rule announced they finalized revisions to simplify its compliance requirements. While the revisions do not in any way negate the statutory prohibition on proprietary trading by banks, they do provide market participants with much-needed clarity on compliance issues.In this podcast, SIFMA president and CEO, Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. is joined by Robert Toomey, Managing Director and Associate General Counsel fo...
Oct 15, 2019•14 min
The U.S. housing market is a critical piece of the general economy. It represents one-fifth of U.S. GDP and 35% of all private, non-financial debt in the country.The U.S. Treasury Department just announced that Fannie and Freddie will retain their earnings, a step in moving the companies out of conservatorship and back into the private sector. In this podcast, SIFMA president and CEO, Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. is joined by Chris Killian - Managing Director and head of SIFMA's securitization practi...
Oct 04, 2019•18 min
Money market funds are investment vehicles that invest in debt securities with short maturities and minimal credit risk. They are a significant source of cash for the repo markets, where a money market fund or other asset manager lends cash to a broker-dealer or hedge fund in exchange for securities, often Treasury notes. Last week, a confluence of events negatively affected liquidity in the repo markets; a change in the availability of cash to lend caused market rates to nearly double and signi...
Sep 23, 2019•12 min
The financial system relies on short-term money markets every day to fund operations. A crucial but little-known market that ordinarily hums steadily along, this week we saw a shortage of cash cause a massive spike in repo rates. What happened?In this podcast, SIFMA president and CEO, Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. discusses the confluence of technical factors that caused the market dislocation - and what policymakers can take away from it. He is joined by Robert Toomey - Managing Director and Associat...
Sep 20, 2019•10 min
A decade ago, the Federal Reserve implemented the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) process as part of its stress testing framework to assess and regulate capital sufficiency at large bank holding companies. A new study released by SIFMA uses statistical analysis of stress testing scenarios to answer a simple question: does the available evidence indicate that the current Global Market Shock (GMS) and Large Counterparty Default (LCD) shocks from recent CCAR cycles are plausible?In...
Sep 19, 2019•23 min
SIFMA's survey of chief U.S. economists forecasts that the U.S. economy will grow 2.2% in 2019, a decrease from its end-year predictions. U.S. trade policy and China’s deteriorating economic conditions were among the most important considerations in the forecast change. Ellen Zentner, Managing Director and Chief U.S. Economist for Morgan Stanley and Chair of SIFMA's Economic Advisory Roundtable discusses the results from our latest survey.Read the full report:https://www.sifma.org/resources/rese...
Jun 12, 2019•10 min
With the adoption of complex, conservative, prudential regulatory requirements, banks are now subject to multiple risk-based capital ratios, leverage ratios, capital buffers and Total Loss-Absorbing Capital (TLAC) ratios. As a result, they hold excessive levels of capital and liquidity that are increasingly disconnected from the level of risk they incur. Although these levels have undoubtedly increased resiliency, they come at a cost: the more capital required, the less deployed into the economy...
May 30, 2019•22 min
SIFMA's survey of chief U.S. economists forecasts that the U.S. economy will grow 2.9% in 2018 and 2.6% in 2019, unchanged from its mid-year predictions. Michael Feroli, Chief U.S. Economist for J.P. Morgan and Chair of SIFMA's 2018 Economic Advisory Roundtable discusses the results from our latest survey.Read the full report:https://www.sifma.org/resources/research/us-economic-outlook-survey-end-year-2018/
Dec 13, 2018•6 min
$200 trillion of financial contracts and securities are tied to LIBOR and that matters to everyone – small businesses, corporations, banks, dealers and investors. At SIFMA's 2018 Annual Meeting, Sandie O’Connor and David Bowman discuss how the Alternative Reference Rates Committee of the Federal Reserve - known as ARRC - is leading the U.S. transition the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR. Sandie is the Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer for JPMorgan Chase & Co. and chair of the ARRC. ...
Oct 31, 2018•29 min
SIFMA's survey of chief U.S. economists forecasts that the U.S. economy will grow 2.9% for the remainder of 2018, a significantly stronger prediction than their end-year forecast. Michael Feroli, Chief U.S. Economist for JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Chair of SIFMA's 2018 Economic Advisory Roundtable discusses the results from our latest survey.Read the full report:https://www.sifma.org/resources/research/research-quarterly-first-quarter-2018/
Jun 11, 2018•10 min
Welcome to SIFMA’s podcast from our annual State of the Industry media briefing. In this segment, our leadership discusses the state of the capital markets and priority issues for the financial services industry in 2018. Please welcome the Chair or our Board of Directors, Lisa Kidd Hunt, Executive Vice President, Business initiatives for Charles Schwab and SIFMA’s President and CEO, Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr.
Dec 18, 2017•25 min
2017 End-Year Economic Outlook Podcast
Dec 08, 2017•6 min
