December 16, 2021
As a registered shareholder participating in the markets, I am quite honestly shocked that this rule is being RE-proposed.
It is shocking that fraud, manipulation, and deception were not already prohibited in the security based swaps market. The whole world saw the devastation that Archegos brought due to the opaqueness of this market, its ability to gain leverage far beyond its own assets, and the devastating effects on the broader financial system. The whole world dealt with the repercussions of the recklessness of large institutions operating discretely in 2008, and yet here we are again.
I am disappointed in commissioners Peirce and Roisman for voting against measures like this, which clearly demonstrates their preference for a dangerous and unregulated market. This is scary to me and most investors Ive spoken to, as these are unelected officials with the ability to protect investors but choose instead to protect a small number of larger nefarious institutions. I sincerely hope you can save what little hope there is left in your agency by passing this rule, and going further by punishing fraud, manipulation, and deception with penalties larger than the gains received from the crime committed.