Securities Industry Association Forms Senior Advisory Council To Guide Industry’s International Efforts - CSFB’s Richard Thornburgh To Chair Group

The Securities Industry Association has formed an International Advisory Council to provide SIA’s board and International Committee with guidance on the World Trade Organization Financial Services Negotiations, The U.S.-E.U. Financial Markets Dialogue and other issues affecting the international capital markets. Key to the Council’s mission of eliminating barriers that impede U.S. financial services companies’ access to investment opportunities abroad will be opening an ongoing dialogue with government officials, regulators, and self-regulators.

At its first meeting today, the Council identified a number of issues for review. “Transatlantic capital markets must be more efficient and accessible to investors and issuers,” said Richard Thornburgh, the Council’s chairman and Vice Chairman of the Executive Board, Credit Suisse First Boston. “We hope that at the June 20 U.S.-E.U. Summit, officials will make progress in the reduction and elimination of duplicative and conflicting transatlantic regulation.”

The Council also urged the U.S. to play a strong leadership role in the continuation of WTO financial services talks. “The financial services industry sees the WTO Doha Development Round negotiations as an excellent opportunity to advance the goals of open, fair, and transparent markets,” said Thornburgh.

The Council shares many of the same goals as the U.S. Treasury Department’s “Agenda For Growth” and looks forward to any opportunity to work with the Bush Administration to improve international access and regulatory quality.

In addition to Thornburgh, the Council members present were senior-level executive officers of Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase International, UBS Investment Bank, The Goldman Sachs Group, Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., and Barclays.