House OKs Bill to Expand SEC’s Power Over Wall St.

A stock market reform bill expanding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s powers to monitor major Wall Street players and intervene during stock market emergencies was passed unanimously by the House today in a voice vote.

House passage of the Market Reform Act of 1990, which the Senate approved on Tuesday, sends the bill to the White House for President Bush’s signature.

The bill was agreed upon after a month of discussions between House and Senate staff members. It will allow the SEC to regulate program trading--the controversial computer-driven trading strategy--during times of extreme market turbulence.

It also expands the authority of the SEC chairman to shut down the securities markets, with presidential permission, in times of market emergency. Before, only the President could order a trading halt.

Other provisions:

* Require large securities traders to report their market positions to the SEC.

* Mandate coordinated clearance and settlement of stocks, options and futures contracts between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

* Require the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, the CFTC and SEC to report annually to Congress on their efforts to protect the integrity of the markets.

* Give the SEC authority to assess the financial health of the parent holding companies of broker-dealers.

Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., the one-time junk bond giant of Wall Street, collapsed in February after the failure of its parent holding company, which SEC officials have complained they had no authority to monitor.