Later this week, the House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing addressing the GameStop trading phenomenon. This will be the third hearing the Committee will have held on the short squeeze that was partly orchestrated by individual chatting on Reddit. Many of the trades took place on Robinhood – compelling the digital investment platform to raise more capital. Hedge funds shorting shares in GameStop lost money as the price of GameStop shares rocketed higher.
The third, and perhaps final hearing, will see several regulators testify on the saga. The Chairwoman of the Committee, Congresswoman Maxine Waters has released the witnesses expected to testify at the hearing entitled “Game Stopped? Who Wins and Loses When Short Sellers, Social Media, and Retail Investors Collide, Part III.”
The witnesses include:
- The Honorable Gary Gensler, Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Michael Bodson, President and Chief Executive Officer, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation
- Robert Cook, President and Chief Executive Officer, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc
This will be the first Committee hearing where Gensler will testify and the event should be widely watched by interested parties.
Previously, Chairwoman Waters has said these hearings are informational and they may, or may not, end in any acts of legislation.
The first hearing involved testimony from the CEOs of Robinhood, Citadel, Melvin Capital, Reddit, and retail investor Keith Gill. The second included the participation of academics and other experts.
The virtual hearing will be live-streamed on the Committee’s website. It is scheduled to commence at 12 Noon ET.