Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, on Wednesday pressed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to designate BlackRock and other massive asset management companies so that they would receive greater oversight from federal regulators. Warren noted that BlackRock has $9 trillion under management, “more assets than the entire GDP of Japan, or Germany, or Great Britain.” She asked “would potentially a $9 trillion investment company pose some risks to the American economy if it should fail?” Yellen seemed reluctant, saying “it’s not obvious to me that designation is the correct tool.” She said the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) was going to focus on activities-based regulation, for instance, the fact that open-ended mutual funds saw runs during the Treasury market sell-off at the start of the pandemic.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
