SEC says probes getting ‘interesting’ amidst global training conference here
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says that their probes against insider dealing and market manipulation – some of which are slated to be completed in three months – are increasingly becoming ‘interesting’. While they didn’t let on in any details, informed sources told the Business Times that now there’re many twists and turns in most of their probes which are ongoing since last year. The SEC has come under fire recently – especially pertaining to certain probes, with stakeholders claiming that the regulator is lagging behind with pending investigations. The source added that SEC in this instance also wants to strengthen its investigations unit and bring in compatible staff that isn’t susceptible to external forces.
“It’ll basically be a new organisational chart to tackle the ‘pending’ matters more efficiently and fast track them.” This was one of the reasons that SEC decided to host a global training conference in Colombo last month which saw some 22 high level global and local participants sit through extensive teachings by US resource personnel, according to informed sources. The SEC didn’t want to comment on this training but some participants told the Business Times that the three resource personnel from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had tirelessly trained the participants from 15 countries including Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, UAE, etc who had joined SEC’s directors and managerial staff.
The training programme called, ‘Effective Oversight of Capital Markets’ was on investigations, supervision and corporate governance among other related topics and was held in Colombo on the immediate aftermath of the International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO), the international body that is recognised as the global standard setter for the securities sector conducting a country review on Sri Lanka in a bid to evaluate the status of implementation of IOSCO’s Principles and to recommend a road map to address any gaps in implementation. The SEC had invited their US counterparts to hold this training in Colombo.
A participant said that the global training conference was really useful in terms of detecting market manipulation and insider dealing in a more effective manner. “This will enhance the SEC’s ability to monitor the market in a much more efficient and also in a professional manner,” the official added. While there was a high growth in the Colombo stock market seen in 2009, 2010 and in the first quarter of 2011, it also caused a high degree of price volatility and it also created many regulatory and supervisory issues.
“Market misconduct, particularly in the form of insider dealing and market manipulation is, put simply, cheating and reduces investor confidence. The new training will help the SEC identify the signs of insider trading and market abuse,” he explained.
He said that the SEC hosted this global training conference with the emphasis placed on uplifting professionalism in the industry through continuous training, investor awareness etc. “These initiatives are geared at ensuring a regulatory and governance framework that reinforces a culture of accountability and integrity.”