Trading and Markets Director Stephen Luparello to Leave SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Stephen Luparello, Director of the Division of Trading and Markets, will leave the agency by the first of the year.  He was named director of the office in February 2014.

Mr. Luparello played a key role in enhancing the transparency and strengthening the integrity of our nation’s markets, including the operation of trading platforms, clearing agencies, and broker-dealers that investors rely on every day.

“We set an ambitious agenda to enhance our market structure,” said SEC Chair Mary Jo White. “Steve was at the forefront of that effort, and his leadership and expertise have helped produce both important new protections for investors today and a strong foundation from which the Commission can continue to further strengthen our markets for years to come. The agency is extremely fortunate to have the benefit of Steve’s deep knowledge and commitment to the markets.”

“It has been an honor to work with Chair White, the Commissioners and the incredible Trading and Markets team, whose dedication and hard work have greatly enhanced the Commission’s oversight of the equity, fixed income and derivatives markets,” said Mr. Luparello. “I know they will continue to make great progress in these important areas on behalf of investors and our markets.”

During Mr. Luparello’s tenure, the Commission adopted Regulation Systems Compliance and Integrity (Reg SCI), which established new controls to strengthen crucial technological systems, providing greater transparency, accountability and resilience.  He also played a key role in the Commission’s efforts to enhance operational transparency and regulatory oversight of alternate trading systems (ATSs) that trade stocks listed on a national securities exchange, including dark pools.  Additionally, he oversaw proposed rules that for the first time would require broker-dealers to disclose the handling of institutional orders to customers.

With Mr. Luparello’s leadership, the Commission also approved a plan to create a comprehensive database that allows regulators to track trading activity in the U.S. equity and options markets.  The database, known as the consolidated audit trail (CAT), will greatly enhance regulators’ ability to monitor market behavior and reconstruct market events.

Mr. Luparello was instrumental in the creation of the Commission’s first Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee, and as the Committee’s designated federal officer, he facilitated significant discussions on the structure and operations of the U.S. equities markets.

Mr. Luparello also acted as the principal liaison for the Commission staff in discussions regarding the U.S. Treasury market in the wake of the events of Oct. 15, 2014.  Under his direction, the Commission approved a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rule proposal that would require its members to report U.S. Treasury securities transactions, that for the first time gives regulators enhanced oversight in the U.S. Treasury market.

Mr. Luparello has provided strong leadership on the adoption of many Dodd-Frank Title VII rules that provided a new regulatory regime for security-based swaps, involving cross-border rules for security-based swap (SBS) entities, rules for SBS data repositories, new business conduct standards, and enhanced SBS transactions reporting and recordkeeping. In addition, the Commission approved Division recommendations to approve heightened standards for critical central counterparties, and to propose a rule to shorten the clearance and settlement cycle.

Prior to his arrival at the Commission, Mr. Luparello was a partner at WilmerHale, in its Washington, D.C. office.  Previous to that, he spent 16 years at FINRA and its predecessor, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD).  As FINRA’s vice chairman, he was responsible for its enforcement, exam, market regulation, international and disclosure programs.

Upon Mr. Luparello’s departure, Heather Seidel, Chief Counsel for the Division of Trading and Markets, will become the acting director.

Ms. Seidel began her securities law career at the SEC in 1996 in what was then the Division of Market Regulation and later moved to the Division of Investment Management.  She then spent several years in the private sector, starting in 1999 as an associate at the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering and in 2001 as an associate and vice president in the law division of Morgan Stanley. 

She returned to the SEC in 2003 to the Division of Trading and Markets, serving as an Attorney Fellow, Senior Special Counsel and Assistant Director in the Office of Market Supervision.  In 2010 she became an Associate Director in the Office of Market Supervision, and in 2015 she was named as Chief Counsel for the Division.

Ms. Seidel received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut in 1992 and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1995.