On the same day that the UK’s Financial Services Authority announced a 10% budget hike to hire more staff, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said that it needs a 12% increase to beef up regulation south of the border.

In testimony before the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government of the House Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday, SEC chairwoman Mary Schapiro noted that President Obama is requesting a total of US$1.26 billion from Congress for the agency in fiscal 2011, a 12% increase over the 2010 funding level.

Schapiro said that the funding hike would allow it to hire 374 new staffers, a 10% increase over 2010, bringing the total number of staff to just over 4,200. “The request also will permit us to continue expanding our investments in surveillance, risk analysis, and other technology, as well as in better training for SEC staff,” she added.

Of the 374 new hires, about 130 would be in enforcement, she said, which would enable it to open 75 additional inquiries, conduct 130 additional formal investigations, and file charges in 70 additional civil or administrative cases. She said that it is seeking to hire enforcement staff with specialized expertise in financial products, including structured products and hedge funds, trading strategies, risk, and financial analysis. It also wants to hire experienced trial lawyers, and administrative staff.

In addition to the new enforcement hires, it would add 70 people in the examinations unit, 20 people in the newly-created Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation, almost 50 in the Divisions of Investment Management and Trading and Markets, and 25 in the Division of Corporation Finance.

It would also spend an additional US$12 million on information technology investments.

Schapiro noted that the proposed increase in spending would be fully offset by fees collected on transactions and registrations. In fiscal 2011, it estimates that it will collect US$1.7 billion, an increase of US$220 million over 2010.

IE