One Week Remains for Registration for 1st Public Forum to Solicit Views About SIPC Modernization

Registration Process Will Remain Open Through Next Friday

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaking slots are still available for the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) Modernization Task Force live, in-person forum being held from 1 p.m. EDT to 4 p.m. EDT on June 1, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt New York, 109 East 42nd Street at Grand Central Terminal. Advance registration will remain open through 5 p.m. EDT next Friday (May 27, 2011).

The purpose of the forum is to allow members of the public to offer their thoughts to the Task Force.  This will be an opportunity for the SIPC Modernization Task Force to hear the views of the public on ways to improve the mission and operations of SIPC. The Task Force will not be providing information or answering questions at this forum, which will be devoted to soliciting public input.

Those who wish to attend should register online at http://www.SIPCModernization.org or by phone at 1-877-772-1510.  When registering, attendees who wish to speak can also reserve a three-minute speaking slot.  Those who are unable to attend in person will be able to listen to a live audio stream of the event at http://www.SIPCModernization.org or by calling 1-866-843-0890 and using access code 65432. Written comments to the Task Force are being accepted through the SIPC Modernization Task Force website.  

The input from the live forum will be reviewed by the full 10-member SIPC Modernization Task Force.

SIPC Modernization Task Force Members who will be attending the June 1st forum to hear public feedback include:

• Sharon Y. Bowen, Vice Chair, SIPC, and an attorney with Latham & Watkins LLP;
• Joseph P. Borg, Director, Alabama Securities Commission;
• Steven B. Caruso, an attorney with Maddox, Hargett, & Caruso, P.C., which represents public investors;
• John C. Coffee Jr., Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law, Columbia University Law School; and
• James W. Giddens, Lehman Brothers Inc. Trustee, and an attorney with Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP.

This New York City forum is the second of a series of major national public forums focused on soliciting input about the modernization of SIPC.   The effort is part of the SIPC Modernization initiative launched on June 17, 2010.   The forums are part of a full-scale review of the operations of SIPC, which has not been the focus of major new legislation in 30 years. The first forum was held online on September 7, 2010 on the SIPC Modernization website at http://www.SIPCModernization.org.

ABOUT THE SIPC MODERNIZATION WEB SITE

The SIPCModernization.org website is facilitating the widest possible range of public comments on current SIPC operations and possible changes to them. The website features the following elements:

• Key topics (e.g., "levels of protection") that can be commented on and rated by visitors.
• The ability for visitors to add new topics in order to express and solicit views.
• A national Webcast with phone and email interaction opportunities.
• A live, national forum for members of the public to share their views with SIPC Task Force members.

The topics portion of the SIPCModernization.org Web site has grown substantially since its launch in June 2010. To keep abreast of planned SIPCModernization.org events, go to http://www.SIPCModernization.org.

ABOUT SIPC

The Securities Investor Protection Corporation is the investor's first line of defense in the event a SIPC member brokerage firm fails, owing customers cash and securities that are missing from customer accounts. SIPC either acts as trustee or works with an independent court-appointed trustee in a brokerage insolvency case to recover funds.

The statute that created SIPC provides that customers of a failed brokerage firm receive all non-negotiable securities - such as stocks or bonds -- that are already registered in their names or in the process of being registered. At the same time, funds from the SIPC reserve are available to satisfy the remaining claims for customer cash and/or securities custodied with the broker for up to a maximum of $500,000 per customer. This figure includes a maximum of $250,000 on claims for cash. From the time Congress created it in 1970 through December 2010, SIPC has advanced $ 1.6 billion in order to make possible the recovery of $ 109.3 billion in assets for an estimated 739,000 investors.

SOURCE Securities Investor Protection Corporation, Washington, D.C.