SEC Commissioner Kara Stein Addresses Capital Markets Issues

SEC Commissioner Kara Stein sharedshared her views on the current state of U.S. capital markets and addressed several key issues.

In remarks before the Healthy Market Structure Conference held in Boston, Commissioner Stein asserted that the relationship between issuers and investors should not be viewed as a "zero-sum game"; that both sides of the market spectrum benefit from strong market structures that address the needs of all participants.

Focusing on the issue of the decline of initial public offerings, Commissioner Stein explained that private equity capital and capital available through private debt allow companies to fund operations without turning to the public market. In an era of low interest rates, she said, companies often view debt financing as a tenable method of funding growth. Commissioner Stein admitted, however, that the regulatory environment has made "going public" less attractive. As a consequence of the decline, there has been a reduced