Congressman Vito Fossella (R-NY13) today met with top leaders of IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE), including its Chairman and CEO, Jeffrey C. Sprecher, in the second in a series of roundtable discussions in market centers across the United States on ways to enhance the competitiveness of the capital markets.
Fossella serves as Chairman of the “Capital Markets, Economic and Information Security” Task Force under the House Republican Policy Committee. 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.
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 said, “Today was a very successful and informative event for the Task Force. ICE has a unique perspective on global competitiveness because it conducts business in 50 countries and has grown its business model to meet the needs of an increasingly global marketplace. We spent time discussing Sarbanes Oxley and overall regulatory reform, but also had the opportunity to talk in-depth about issues like patent reform, intellectual property and the implications of U.S. tax policy on global businesses. The information we collected today will help this Task Force develop comprehensive recommendations to enhance our capital markets so they remain the destination of choice for investors and companies.”
ICE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher said, “We applaud Congressman Fossella’s efforts to preserve and enhance the competitiveness of the vital U.S. financial markets. In a connected, global economy, the United States, which has been the world leader in innovation, technology and economic health, should consider this opportunity to ensure that we do not lose our competitive advantage to overseas markets.”
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.
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).
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.
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. Earlier this month, 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.
