Bloomberg
Warren Urges Increased Banking Oversight After Archegos Blowup
(Bloomberg) — Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling for more transparency and oversight in the financial system after the forced selloff of holdings linked to Bill Hwang’s private investment firm.The unwinding of Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management after banks forced it to sell billions of dollars in investments accumulated through highly leveraged bets has roiled global markets. Calls for increased oversight have come about due to Archegos’ never having disclosed its positions in the publicly-traded companies.“Archegos’ meltdown had all the makings of a dangerous situation — largely unregulated hedge fund, opaque derivatives, trading in private dark pools, high leverage, and a trader who wriggled out of the SEC’s enforcement,” Warren said in an email. “Regulators need to rely on more than luck to fend off risks to the financial system: we need transparency and strong oversight to ensure that the next hedge fund blowup doesn’t take the economy down with it.”The Securities and Exchange Commission held meetings with banks on Monday to discuss what led to the forced sale. Archegos’s prime brokers included Nomura Holdings Inc., Credit Suisse Group AG, Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley.Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and member of the Senate Banking Committee, is a proponent for increased regulation and oversight of banks. She asked the SEC in January to review its securities rules and enforcement capabilities after the Reddit-induced frenzy in the shares prices of Gamestop Corp. and other stocks caused a hedge-fund short squeeze.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.