US regulator, financial industry monitoring impact of Hurricane Milton on investors, capital markets

By Chris Prentice and Pete Schroeder

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Commission and a top financial industry group said they were closely monitoring the impact of Hurricane Milton on investors and capital markets.

The SEC said in a statement on Wednesday it would consider possible relief from regulatory requirements for those affected by the storm.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) said in a separate statement it was confident its member firms in Florida were prepared for the storm.

The SEC, which oversees companies, accountants, investment advisers and other financial professionals, will continue to track developments and consider granting relief from filing deadlines and other regulatory requirements for those affected by the storms. The agency added it continued to monitor the prior impact of Hurricane Helene, which devastated other parts of the United States, including North Carolina.

SIFMA Managing Director Stephen Byron said in the statement that the group frequently works with its members on a range of contingency planning exercises, including hurricanes. The group is also in contact with relevant government agencies, he added.

"Our business continuity planning efforts and exercises, which are broadly participated in by our member firms, are designed to prepare the industry to the extent possible for major events such as this one," he said.

"We are in contact with our member firms who are geographically located in Florida and have a high degree of confidence in their and the broader industry’s ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies.”

(Reporting by Chris Prentice and Pete Schroeder; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)