WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment today issued the following statement on reports that banks involved with Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO) may have selectively disclosed key information to some big investors while withholding information from the public:

“While the SEC investigates some of the problems surrounding the Facebook IPO, I think it is important to broadly and publicly examine the procedures for taking a company public.  During the debate over the misnamed JOBS Act there was a lot of talk about driving more companies toward the so-called IPO on-ramp, but little discussion and no hearings about the efficiency and transparency of the IPO system.  A dysfunctional IPO market can harm our economy.  We need to ensure the system is fair, balanced, and works for everyone.  The key now is for the regulators to act with urgency and for Congress to hold those involved accountable.”