The New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Securities Dealers signed a letter of intent to consolidate their roles as regulators of broker-dealers into a single operation. The new self-regulatory organization, which has yet to be named, is expected to start in the second quarter 2007.
Mary L. Shapiro, NASD chairman and CEO, will be CEO of the new self-regulatory organization, and Richard G. Ketchum, CEO of NYSE Regulation, will be non-executive chairman for a three-year transition period, according to an NYSE news release.
SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, in a statement issued today, said: "As chairman of the SEC, I've strongly supported the effort to fold the member regulation functions of both the NASD and the NYSE into one regulatory body. I'm firmly convinced that done properly, this could make our self-regulatory system more efficient and more robust from an investor protection standpoint."
