The head of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association testified today that securities firms should be permitted to own banks in the United States.

In testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, SIFMA president and CEO, Marc Lackritz, indicated that trade associations supports the ability of regulated securities firms to own industrial banks the way they currently do under existing law.

“Congress passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999 to allow affiliations between and among securities firms, banks and insurance companies combined with functional regulation. This ability to structure their operations optimally within existing law has been critical to the success of industrial banks and their owners,” said Lackritz. “Many of these companies are among the most advanced, sophisticated, and competent providers of financial services anywhere. We support the ability of regulated securities firms to continue to own industrial banks as they do under existing law.”

Lackritz added, “As capital markets and financial products continue to evolve, so too must our nation’s regulatory structure. The United States needs a regulatory regime that is capable of keeping pace with rapid globalization, technological transformations, and dynamic market changes. That is why we are working to develop a long-term strategy of seeking to modernize, harmonize, and rationalize financial services regulation.”