In an open letter to registered firms, such as broker dealers and investment advisors, U.S. securities regulators remind firms not to neglect their compliance responsibilities, even as they aim to cut costs.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations sent the letter to chief executives of SEC-registered firms, “to remind them of the critical role played by their firms’ compliance programs in assuring that their operations comply with the law and rules for industry participation and to ensure that the interests of customers or clients are protected.”

In the letter, Lori Richards, director of the SEC’s OCIE, wrote, “While many firms are considering reductions and cost-cutting measures, we remind you of your firm’s legal obligation to maintain an adequate compliance program reasonably designed to achieve compliance with the law.”

The open letter follows SEC chairman Christopher Cox’s remarks at the SEC’s recent CCOutreach National Seminar, where he said, “Experience has taught us again and again that giving short shrift to regulatory compliance subjects a company’s investors, employees, management, directors, and every other stakeholder to unacceptable risks … compliance programs have made huge strides in recent years in becoming more formalized and more robust … Now more than ever, companies need to take a long-term view on compliance and realize that their fiduciary responsibility requires a constant commitment to investors. That means sustaining their support for compliance during this market turmoil, and beyond it as well.”

IE