Congressman Vito Fossella (R-NY13) today announced that Atlanta will be the site for the second field meeting of his Task Force on ways to enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. capital markets. Fossella will meet with top financial leaders of the IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) in Atlanta on July 10th. ICE is a global, electronic market for futures and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives contracts covering agricultural, emissions, energy, equity index and foreign exchange products.
Fossella, who serves as Chairman of the “Capital Markets, Economic and Information Security” Task Force under the House Republican Policy Committee, will discuss issues ranging from innovation in the derivatives markets to energy policy to the role of hedge funds during his meetings with Jeffrey C. Sprecher, Chairman and CEO of ICE, and other ICE officials. The Task Force is charged with exploring the factors that may be impeding the competitiveness of the U.S. financial markets and making legislative recommendations for reform.
“The success of our financial markets is essential to America’s long-term economic security, sustained economic growth and creation of quality jobs,” Fossella said. “The field meeting in Atlanta will allow us to gain a unique perspective on the over-the-counter markets and learn of their own recommendations for making America’s markets more attractive internationally. The derivatives markets are an important element of U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace. If the United States is going to compete with the growing foreign derivatives markets, we need to remain at the forefront in offering new and innovative products that global investors demand.”
Jeffrey C. Sprecher, Chairman and CEO of ICE, said, “As one of the most diverse and global exchanges, we are pleased that Congressman Fossella has chosen to hold this important forum on U.S. competitiveness at the ICE headquarters and in Atlanta. The continued growth of the U.S. derivatives industry, and the significant opportunities ahead for U.S. exchanges overseas, is of vital importance not only to our sector, but to the U.S. economy. We applaud Congressman Fossella for the work he is doing to preserve competitiveness of the U.S. markets and look forward to his visit and the valuable dialogue it will foster.”
Fossella is reaching out to a broad spectrum of market participants throughout the U.S. to build upon the findings and recommendations included in several reports released on the issue over the past year. The Task Force is using these recommendations as a starting point and is focusing on legislative remedies that would more effectively strike a balance between upholding investor protections and promoting competitive markets.
A decline in U.S. economic competitiveness would have a significant negative impact on our national economy. One recent study predicted an annual loss of $30 billion in revenue from the financial services sector alone over the next five years, along with the 30,000 to 60,000 domestic jobs this money would have created. In addition, the report said that capital markets in European and Asian economies may have significantly more room to grow than in the U.S. due to lower capital markets penetration.
In May, Fossella held the first meeting of the Task Force in Chicago with roundtables at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
Fossella has been active in addressing concerns over U.S. competitiveness. In 2005, Fossella introduced legislation to make structural and procedural improvements to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in an effort to enhance communication between the policy-making and the enforcement and examination divisions of the agency. The SEC implemented several recommendations contained in the Fossella bill less than six months later. Last week, Fossella and Congressman Gregory Meeks (NY-06) introduced bipartisan legislation that would enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. capital markets by allowing exchanges to establish developmental tiers to expand listing opportunities in the United States for smaller companies.
