Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. And thank you, Josh [White], for your generous introduction. Before sharing a few reflections, I must note that the views I express here are my own as Chairman and do not necessarily reflect those of the SEC as an institution or of my fellow Commissioners.

Of course, I should also like to thank those who contributed to the success of this conference—especially the organizers: Amy Edwards, Vlad Ivanov, Katie Fox, Harmony Yang, and Robert Miller from the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis; Meg Wolf and Kathleen Hanley from Lehigh University; and Ian Appel and Caitlin Boyer from the University of Virginia.

Your work to bring together scholars, researchers, and practitioners comes at a consequential moment for the Commission—and for the broader financial system—a moment in which economic analysis is more central than ever to the conduct and durability of sound financial regulation.

You all know better than most that the quality of our work is only as high as the rigor of our inquiry. This rings true in our rulemaking, of course, but no less in the integrity of our enforcement program—especially as we work to return it to its principled roots and original Congressional intent. (more…)