SEC Chair Calls for Deeper Cross-Border Regulatory Cooperation

SEC Chair Paul Atkins called on global regulators to deepen cooperation on regulatory policy, cross-border enforcement, and emerging technology to safeguard international capital markets.

At an annual conference of the International Institute for Securities Market Growth and Development, Mr. Atkins reaffirmed the SEC's core contention that investor protection, market integrity, and capital formation are inherently global concerns that no single regulator can address alone. He noted the growth of the Institute - and the nearly 180 delegates from fifty-four jurisdictions in attendance - and committed to deepen international cooperation across regulatory policy, enforcement, and supervision.

Mr. Atkins urged collaboration across these three fronts: (i) aligning regulatory policy to reduce friction for companies and build investor confidence, (ii) sharing data and coordinating enforcement to deny bad actors the cover of jurisdictional distance, and (iii) leveraging emerging technologies like AI and data analytics to identify supervisory risks before they become systemic problems.

Mr. Atkins described progress on international regulatory cooperation, highlighting the IOSCO Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding — now joined by more than 130 regulators worldwide — as a landmark achievement in cross-border enforcement coordination. Further, he highlighted that bad actors deliberately design cross-border schemes - offering frauds, insider trading, and market manipulation - to exploit gaps between national regulators, relying on the assumption that information does not travel as freely as capital. He committed the SEC to remain engaged with foreign counterparts bilaterally and multilaterally to deny bad actors that advantage. He added that new surveillance tools and technologies require regulators to share information proactively so that regulatory frictions can be identified before they develop into broader market disruptions.