Acting SEC Chair Uyeda spoke at the Institute of International Bankers’ (IIB) Annual Washington DC Conference on March 11, 2025, about the U.S. Treasury markets.
Acting Chair Uyeda discussed the regulation of exchanges. In particular, he discussed the proposed approach that the Securities and Exchange Commission had undertaken under the leadership of former Chair Clayton in proposing rules for alternative trading systems (ATS) that trade U.S. government securities. This was contrasted with the direction taken by the Commission under Chair Gensler with its proposed rule, which would have defined an “exchange” quite broadly, and would have included various protocols used with respect to crypto assets. Acting Chair Uyeda stated that he asked Commission Staff to engage with the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and other market participants in order to consider whether to move forward with changes that would narrowly address ATSs that trade U.S. government securities. He also noted that, given the negative comments from market participants regarding aspects of the proposed rule’s definition of “exchange” and its effect on crypto related activities, he asked the Staff for alternatives to that part of the proposed rulemaking.
Acting Chair Uyeda also discussed the benefits associated with the use of central clearing for Treasury securities. He noted that the original implementation timeline had not been sufficiently generous to allow market participants time to prepare for the changes. The extended timeline should address these concerns. The Acting Chair also addressed the concerns raised regarding the extraterritorial scope of the Treasury clearing rule. In that regard, he encouraged conference attendees to “engage with the appropriate bodies here and in the country of [their] parent companies to ensure issues are identified and resolved.” See the full text of the Acting Chair’s remarks.