Chair Gensler recently testified before the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government in connection with the Securities and Exchange Commission budget request.  In his testimony, the Chair included a number of important statistics.  For example, he pointed to the size of the U.S. capital markets, now at approximately $110 trillion, or 40% of the world’s capital markets, while the United States represents 24% of the world’s economy.  He noted that now, approximately 58% of U.S. households own stocks, up from 52% in 2016, and more than half own registered funds.  The U.S. debt capital markets facilitate 75% of debt financing of non-financial corporations, whereas in Europe, the UK, and Asia, only between 12% to 29% is raised in the capital markets.  The entire U.S. banking system is $23 trillion.  The U.S. capital markets are nearly five times the size of the U.S. banking sector.  There are more than 7,400 active reporting companies, up from about 6,800 in 2020.  Of the 7,400 reporting issuers, 4,000 companies are listed on U.S. securities exchanges.  Transaction volume in listed equities doubled in the last five years and tripled in the last 17.  Today, more than 15,400 registered investment advisers advise 57 million clients.  At the end of 2016, by comparison, 12,000 registered investment advisers advised 43 million clients.  Commenting on the SEC’s enforcement activity, the Chair noted that in fiscal year 2023, the SEC received more than 40,000 separate tips, complaints, and referrals from whistleblowers and others, a 13% increase over fiscal year 2022.  The Enforcement Division brought 784 enforcement actions in fiscal year 2023, a 3% increase over fiscal year 2022.  These resulted in orders for $4.9 billion in penalties and disgorgement.  Of course, the Chair requested an increase in budget allocation for the SEC; the full testimony is available here, and his oral remarks are available here.

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