Washington, D.C., Nov. 17, 2006 - The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that John McCarthy, Associate Director in the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), will leave the Commission later this month. Mr. McCarthy is joining a privately-held proprietary trading firm with offices in New York, London and Chicago.
Lori Richards, the Director of OCIE, said, "John has played a key role in many important inspection and examination initiatives, and his expertise in trading and markets has been enormously valuable to the SEC in its oversight of firms and self-regulatory organizations. His work has led to significant and lasting improvements in the markets' surveillance, compliance and other regulatory programs. Ultimately, his work served to better protect investors and the integrity of our markets. He is known for his calm leadership, perseverance, collegiality, and unwavering commitment to investor protection."
Mr. McCarthy said, "My tenure at the Commission was an extremely rewarding experience because I was able to work on a daily basis with dedicated professionals who are truly committed to protecting investors."
Mr. McCarthy, 42, joined the Commission's staff in 1992 as a staff attorney and became an Associate Director of OCIE's market oversight unit in 2000. As Associate Director, Mr. McCarthy supervised the Commission's oversight inspection program which is responsible for regulatory oversight of trading on the securities exchanges. During his tenure, Mr. McCarthy supervised and conducted inspections and examinations that involved a wide range of issues. These issues included best execution, order handling, research analyst conflicts, market timing and late trading, fixed-income trading, floor trading and ATS compliance.
Mr. McCarthy received the Commission's 2000 and 2004 Capital Markets Award for leading inspections that assisted in reforming the options markets, and for leading OCIE's examinations of investment banking/research analysts' conflicts of interest. Mr. McCarthy also received the Chairman's Award of Excellence in 1998 for his role in improving the Commission's oversight of the self-regulatory organizations.
Mr. McCarthy received his B.S. in Engineering and A.B. in Economics from the University of Michigan, his M.Sc. in Finance from the London School of Economics and his JD from the University of Maryland.