Public pension execs urge SEC to make NYSE reforms

Eleven state treasurers and public pension fund executives asked the SEC to conduct an "exhaustive, independent" review of the New York Stock Exchange and amend the exchange's corporate governance reform plan. In a letter to William H. Donaldson, SEC chairman, the group asked that the NYSE separate its chairman and CEO positions and that its regulatory and market operations also be split. California Treasurer Philip Angelides and New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi were among those who signed the letter. The reform plan by John Reed, NYSE interim chairman and CEO, calls for a new eight-member board of directors and a separate regulatory board; it was approved by exchange members Tuesday. The plan must get SEC approval to be enacted.