Levitt bids adieu to SEC

The US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, Mr Arthur Levitt, announced last week that after seven and one-half years, he would step down as Chairman before mid-February 2001. Mr Levitt, the SEC's longest-serving chairman, made the announcement to the Commission staff in the SEC's William O. Douglas Room. Chairman Levitt delivered the following remarks to the Commission staff.

``For the last almost eight years, I have had my dream job. I have been able to work on issues I have been deeply passionate about since I first began my career in the securities business as a broker, nearly 38 years ago. Day in and day out, I had the opportunity to work alongside and, especially learn from the most brilliant, dedicated and selfless group of public servants anyone could hope to work with.

``When I walk the halls of the SEC, I routinely see -- in office after office -- the public good being selflessly promoted; whether it is by a young securities lawyer a few years out of law school whose professional persona will very much be shaped by the values he/she is exposed to, and the dedication he/she is imbibed with; the former Big 5 accountant who gives his all to ensure that the integrity of corporate financial reporting is maintained; or the examiner in the field held up in an office reviewing compliance records.

``I have also had the opportunity to travel around the country and speak to thousands of individual investors. And with each passing year, with the rise of the baby boom, changing retirement patterns and markets that sometimes defied the laws of gravity, I witnessed more and more first time investors, our friends and neighbours, whose hopes and aspirations became inextricably linked to the health and resiliency of our markets.

``I think back to those first few town hall meetings. We were lucky if we attracted 75 people. Today, audiences at our town hall meetings routinely number in the thousands. Just a few weeks ago, at a town hall in Atlanta, I fielded questions about the SuperMontage, pro forma financials, earnings management, analyst conflict of interest disclosure and other sophisticated subjects.

``The rise of the individual investor in the last decade is one of the most powerful and striking developments in the history of our capital markets. While technology and competition are two reasons for the emergence of the retail investor, one, in my mind, is foundational: Public confidence.

``Much of the genesis for that confidence rests with each of you who pass through the doors of this building every day with the mission of protecting the investor's interest. It has been my greatest honour to be a part of that tradition, part of the espirit de corps that separates this agency from any other in Washington. In the past, it has been fashionable to vilify government. Those who do have never spent much time in this building. The simple truth is I revere this institution and the people who give its mission life.

``In the last few days, I have notified the White House as well as the incoming Administration that I intend to step down as SEC Chairman early next year. While I look forward to my return to private life and the beginning of new challenges, this is a day I knew would come, but long have dreaded.

``I will miss greatly your professionalism, your integrity and your friendship. In an odd way, I will even miss the coffee at the Wall Street Deli. I will miss meeting someone coming up to me with an idea on how we can get more meaningful disclosure; on how we can help investors help themselves get a better price or better advice; on how we can make our markets fairer, our accounting practices stronger, our financial products more transparent.

``I will miss the passion that defines so much of what you do each day in seeing to it that the unscrupulous in our markets get what they deserve. I leave here with one regret, however. We spent the last year trying to secure what all of you so plainly deserve: Pay parity.

``I am disappointed that Congress passed our budget without that provision. But our efforts have only just begun. I know that the Commission will continue to fight for it and I have received commitments from many members of Congress and the heads of our appropriations and authorising committees to support pay parity

``I want to thank my fellow Commissioners through the years and Commissioners, Messrs Hunt, Carey and Ms Unger who are here today. Each of you has been an immeasurable source of support, insight and camaraderie. I will miss Ike's sartorial lectures as much as his legal ones -- even his occasional grumpy complaints. I will miss Paul's jokes during the open meetings even though some of them really were not that funny. I will miss Laura's frequent presentations on technology -- even though I suspect Laura thought my understanding of technology did not extend beyond E-Bay.

``To those of you here who preceded me like Messrs Caite McGuire, Jack Katz, Bill Atkinson, Bob Colby, John Heine, Tom Newkirk and many others and to those no longer here, you established a tradition that made excellence the standard, and failure unthinkable.

``To those who are yet to come, the mandate is clear: No political tide, no flaws of ambition will sidetrack the patriots of this agency from a noble duty fashioned and nurtured for 66 years. The stakes are high and the payoff enormous. If we stand by and for investors, above all else, we protect the vitality of our markets, the richness of our heritage, the weight of our political independence and the high ideals of our country.''

(Source: http://www.sec.gov/news/levittgo.htm)