Feb. 8, 2024
Good afternoon, My name is Adrian Watson. I’m a 37 year old truck driver, husband and a middle class retail investor. I would like to address some serious concerns with the OCC’s proposal. Wall Street has been allowed to violate regulations and laws with little to no repercussions or accountability. The fines are minimal. Hedge funds on Wall Street have been allowed to spoof and naked short stocks into oblivion. As soon as a company IPOs, they are attacked by shorts. These new companies work so hard to build up their business, only to then be forced into bankruptcy. The purpose of taking a company public is to raise capital. Cancer and other disease research companies have been denied the right and opportunity to grow. Big banks and hedge funds have now, once again, over leveraged themselves with risky bets, toxic assets and have uninsured liabilities. There are consequences for every man’s decisions. So why do these institutions get bailed out and exempt from margin requirements? Margin requirements are a tool used for checks and balances to prevent a financial crisis, to protect the integrity of America’s financial markets, and to protect America’s investors and taxpayers. If the SEC allows the OCC to raise margin requirements in times of volatility, and institutions are granted exemptions and grace; where is the integrity of America’s financial market? If the SEC passes this proposal, this will be the beginning of the end of the greatest country in the world’s market integrity. Some institutions may and will fail in times of market volatility but that is the cost for America’s market integrity. Regrettably, those are the repercussions that a hedge fund or institution might encounter when behaving irresponsibly and lacking accountability. It’s time to send a clear and direct message to Wall Street. Enough is enough. We can no longer jeopardize America’s financial market’s stability, economy, the global markets, and the global economy. The middle class is the retail investor and the back bone of America. The middle class has been grossly taken advantage of for decades, all in the name of these Wall Street institution’s greed, corruption and financial gain. These entities are the soul beneficiaries of their harmful actions, profiting at the cost of retail investors, the middle-class, and the integrity of America’s financial market. As the greatest country in the world, let’s maintain that status for future generations, by conveying a clear and direct message to Wall Street. This must cease to ensure a promising future for America. No more bailouts or exemptions – all for the sake of America!??