Treasury Secretary
Janet Yellen
has called a meeting with top financial regulators to discuss recent volatility in financial markets related to
GameStop Corp.
, a Treasury spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday night.
Ms. Yellen, who chairs a council of regulators that monitors financial stability risks, has asked for a meeting with officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve, the New York Fed and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Treasury spokeswoman Alexandra LaManna said.
“Secretary Yellen believes the integrity of markets is important and has asked for a discussion of recent volatility in financial markets and whether recent activities are consistent with investor protection and fair and efficient markets,” Ms. LaManna said.
The meeting, which is expected to occur as early as Thursday, was previously reported by Reuters.
A group of day traders rallied together in recent weeks to buy shares of GameStop, driving up the price more than 10-fold and prompting complaints that the frenetic activity was manipulative.
The SEC said Friday it planned to closely review the actions of some brokerage firms that restricted investors’ ability to trade volatile stocks such as GameStop, the clearest indication that regulators were examining potential misconduct around the trading mania that swamped stocks such as GameStop,
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.
and
Novavax Inc.
Robinhood Markets Inc. restricted investors’ ability to purchase shares in GameStop and 12 other companies last week as it dealt with the impact on its financial requirements of a surge in trading.
Analysts expect the trading mania could potentially lead to tougher SEC rules on brokerage firms to ensure they have sufficient capital during periods of market volatility. Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill have also proposed legislative changes, such as restrictions on short selling and financial transactions taxes, that could address the situation.
Asked about the trading volatility on Monday, White House press secretary
Jen Psaki
said the SEC is reviewing and monitoring the situation, adding, “There is an important set of policy issues that have been raised as a result of market volatility in recent days, and we think congressional attention to these issues is appropriate.”
GameStop saw its largest one-day percentage drop ever on Tuesday, tumbling $135, or 60%, to $90. That wiped out the gains from the past week, though the videogame company’s stock is still up 378% for the year.
Write to Kate Davidson at kate.davidson@wsj.com
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