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Economic Report of the President

Report - The American Presidency Project

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trend by widening <strong>the</strong> sources and uses <strong>of</strong> funds available to depositoryinstitutions, and by allowing for a far larger measure <strong>of</strong> pricecompetition in <strong>the</strong> financial services industry. These actions shouldcontribute to a stronger and more responsive financial system.STOCK EXCHANGESMuch <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> regulation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Nation's stock exchanges began in<strong>the</strong> 1930s, largely in response to <strong>the</strong> crisis in <strong>the</strong> financial marketscreated by <strong>the</strong> Great Depression. This regulation was broad and diverse,and included mandatory and systematic disclosure <strong>of</strong> corporaterecords as well as rule-setting authority over stock exchanges. Over<strong>the</strong> last several years, much <strong>of</strong> this regulation has been relaxed.Commission RatesPrior to 1968, commissions paid to members <strong>of</strong> stock exchangeswere fixed by those stock exchanges and approved by <strong>the</strong> Securitiesand Exchange Commission (SEC). After 1968, however, <strong>the</strong> fixedcommission schedule was slowly dismantled in favor <strong>of</strong> negotiatedcommissions. Beginning in May 1975, commission rates on all securitytransactions were negotiated.Negotiated commission rates were <strong>the</strong> product <strong>of</strong> a market-inducedbreakdown <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fixed-rate commission structure. From 1961 to1966 <strong>the</strong> dollar volume and market share <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> regional stock exchangesincreased dramatically because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fixed-rate system. Regionalstock exchanges allowed customers dealing on those exchangesto "give up" or have transferred a portion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir fixedcommission to a third party who supplied o<strong>the</strong>r services. The NewYork Stock Exchange (NYSE) stipulated that customers <strong>of</strong> that exchangecould only give up commissions to o<strong>the</strong>r members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>NYSE. This constraint that <strong>the</strong> NYSE imposed on its customers encouragedmany <strong>of</strong> those customers to turn to <strong>the</strong> regional exchanges,where competition had effectively driven down <strong>the</strong> cost <strong>of</strong> exchangeservices.Faced with a declining share <strong>of</strong> stock transactions, <strong>the</strong> NYSE asked<strong>the</strong> SEC to force regional exchanges to eliminate <strong>the</strong> rules that wereaffording <strong>the</strong>m a competitive advantage. Commenting on <strong>the</strong> NYSEproposal, <strong>the</strong> Department <strong>of</strong> Justice suggested that <strong>the</strong> broader issue<strong>of</strong> possible elimination <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fixed-rate commission structure shouldbe examined. In defense <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fixed-rate commission structure, aNYSE study suggested that "destructive competition," reflected in adecline in <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> broker services, could result from <strong>the</strong> absence<strong>of</strong> fixed commission rates.Despite <strong>the</strong> objections <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> NYSE, <strong>the</strong> Congress passed <strong>the</strong> SecuritiesActs Amendments <strong>of</strong> 1975. These reconfirmed that nonmembercommission rates were fully negotiable and made exchange floor119

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