[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 80 (Thursday, May 11, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING THE DEPOSITORY TRUST & CLEARING CORPORATION ON ITS 50TH 
                              ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KATHY CASTOR

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 11, 2023

  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge The 
Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the world's leading 
post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services 
industry, on its 50th anniversary. DTCC is a trusted employer in the 
Tampa Bay area and across the globe. An accomplishment that few firms 
ever achieve, this is a truly significant milestone not just for DTCC, 
but the industry as a whole.
  Originally founded in 1973 as The Depository Trust Company (DTC), 
this firm was established to address a multitude of issues which had 
been plaguing the global financial services throughout the late 1960s 
and early 1970s. During this time, Wall Street dealt with countless 
amounts of paper every day--so much so that at one point, the U.S. 
markets actually stopped trading one day a week so that firms could 
catch up on their paperwork. This led to systems being slow, 
inefficient and dated, and runners having to carry paper checks and 
physical securities between firms.
  To address this paperwork crisis, Congress charged the U.S. 
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with the task of investigating 
and addressing the underlying causes of the issue. The laws and 
solutions that resulted from this action have profoundly shaped the 
clearance and settlement process we use today and ultimately led to the 
creation of DTC as an industry utility. A true pioneer in the industry, 
DTC streamlined back-office operations, introduced a computerized book 
entry accounting system and used technology to eliminate reliance on 
paper stock certificates. Through its creation of the first electronic 
security, DTC effectively launched the modern financial services 
marketplace.
  DTCC has had incredible growth since its foundation in 1973. 
Operating across 21 global locations, DTCC automates, centralizes and 
standardizes the processing of financial transactions. In addition to 
DTC, the firm has two subsidiaries, The National Securities Clearing 
Corporation (NSCC) and The Fixed Income Clearing Corporation. 
Designated as Systemically Important Financial Market Utilities (SIFMU) 
by the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Stability Oversight Council 
(FSOC), these three clearing agency subsidiaries play a critical role 
in protecting the safety and stability of the global financial system.
  DTCC's accomplishments include introducing multi-lateral netting, 
which significantly streamlined settlement and reduced risk; automating 
clearing and settling trades in U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed 
securities in the world's largest fixed income market; delivering 
greater efficiency, cost savings and risk mitigation to institutional 
trading and investors; and improving the data reporting landscape for 
the DTC derivatives business.
  I commend and am particularly grateful to DTCC for the critical role 
it has played in providing stability and certainty for the global 
financial markets in times of crisis, including the Sept. 11 terrorist 
attack, the 2008 Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. In spite 
of these systemic shocks, DTCC ensured that the markets continued to 
operate seamlessly.
  Over the past 50 years, DTCC has earned its reputation as a trusted 
steward by driving innovation, embracing technology and creating new 
products and services to protecting the safety and stability of the 
financial markets. Today, the firm continues to drive positive change 
by leading large-scale, industry-wide initiatives to strengthen market 
structure.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my neighbors in Tampa Bay and the citizens 
of Florida, I congratulate The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation 
on this remarkable achievement that is its 50th anniversary and wish it 
many more years of success in protecting the investing public.

                          ____________________