SEC Announces Departure of Trading and Markets Division Director Haoxiang Zhu

Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - December 9, 2024) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Haoxiang Zhu, Director of the Division of Trading and Markets, will depart the agency effective Dec. 10, 2024. Upon Mr. Zhu’s departure, David Saltiel, a Deputy Director who also heads the Division’s Office of Analytics and Research, will serve as Acting Director.

“I want to thank Haoxiang for his leadership of the Division of Trading and Markets for the last several years,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “In that time, we’ve worked to bring central clearing to the Treasury market, comprehensively update the national market system rules for the first time in nearly two decades, and shorten the settlement cycle. Investors and issuers will benefit because of these reforms achieved during Haoxiang’s time of service. I wish him very well in his next steps. I also want to thank David for stepping into this leadership role and for his invaluable counsel.”

During Mr. Zhu’s tenure, the SEC undertook a number of initiatives to modernize the regulation of U.S. securities markets. The SEC expanded central clearing for Treasury repurchase and cash transactions, which will significantly strengthen the resiliency of the $28 trillion U.S. Treasuries market. The SEC also successfully shortened the settlement cycle to one day, which reduces risk and enhances efficiency in U.S. equities, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, and other markets. To further increase transparency and competition in the $55 trillion U.S. equity market, the SEC modernized its disclosure requirements regarding execution quality and updated Regulation NMS, a collection of rules that govern the market-wide mechanics of stock trading. Additionally, the SEC updated existing regulation for broker-dealers and adopted new rules that increase the transparency and integrity of markets for securities lending, short selling, and security-based swaps. Besides rulemaking, Mr. Zhu also led the Division’s efforts in the day-to-day oversight of exchanges, alternative trading systems, broker-dealers, FINRA, clearing agencies, and other market participants.

“It’s been my greatest honor and privilege to serve at the SEC,” said Mr. Zhu. “I’m immensely grateful to Chair Gensler and the other Commissioners for entrusting me the responsibility to lead the Division of Trading and Markets, which has a 90-year history of protecting U.S. capital markets and investors. My deep gratitude also goes to the Division’s staff for their unwavering dedication to the agency’s mission and incredibly diligent and thoughtful work. They inspire me every day. I encourage everyone to consider public service at some point in their professional career -- if you haven’t done it already. The sense of purpose and pride and the knowledge that you’ve done your best for the American public are the ultimate rewards.”

Mr. Zhu joined the SEC in December of 2021. He will return to the MIT Sloan School of Management as the Gordon Y. Billard Professor of Management and Finance and Associate Professor of Finance, a position he held before joining the SEC. Mr. Zhu also previously served as an academic expert for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Bank for International Settlements, a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Working Group on Financial Markets, and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Mr. Zhu earned a B.A. in mathematics and computer science from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. in finance from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Mr. Saltiel has served as a Deputy Director in the Division of Trading and Markets since November 2021 and as Associate Director of the Division’s Office of Analytics and Research since 2016. He previously served as the Division’s Acting Director for several months in 2021.