Broker Alpine Fights SEC, Clearing Groups Over Rule Oversight

The Tenth Circuit seemed open Wednesday to supporting Alpine Securities Corp.'s position that the SEC has insufficient oversight of private clearing regulators to pass constitutional muster.

A key issue is whether the Securities and Exchange Commission “has a meaningful supervisory role” over the National Securities Clearing Corp. and related organizations, Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich said at oral argument in the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

A legal provision saying the SEC can amend, revoke, or modify private regulators’ rules except in the case of clearing agencies is salient, said Maranda Fritz, who represented Alpine. Arguably, ...