The Securities and Exchange Commission formed a cross-divisional team to monitor the effects of COVID-19 on markets, issuers and investors, the agency said Friday.
The COVID-19 Market Monitoring Group is made up of senior level staff from SEC divisions, including the division of economic and risk analysis, division of trading and narkets, division of investment management, division of corporation finance, office of municipal securities, office of credit ratings and the office of compliance inspections and examinations.
The group will coordinate with other federal financial agencies and bodies, including the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the Financial Stability Board, and assist other regulators and public sector partners.
Chairman Jay Clayton said SEC staff have already been working across divisions for several months to monitor the coronavirus pandemic's effects on markets and investors. "At the SEC, our monitoring of, and responses to, the effects of COVID-19 on our capital markets often must take into account complexities, interconnections and continually evolving dynamics of our markets," he said in a statement.
In the same statement, DERA Director and Chief Economist S.P. Kothari, the group's chairman, said the "importance of understanding what is happening in the markets is greater than ever," and collaboration with other regulators is vital.
