Territory in Caribbean Becomes NASAA’s 67th Member

WASHINGTON (May 11, 2005) – North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) President and New Jersey Securities Bureau Chief Franklin L. Widmann today announced that the U.S. Virgin Islands has become the 67th member of NASAA.

“I am greatly pleased that NASAA’s Membership has voted unanimously to welcome the U.S. Virgin Islands as the newest member of our association. NASAA looks forward to a long and fulfilling association with you and your staff,” Widmann wrote in a letter to Deverita C. Sturdivant, Director of the U.S. Virgin Islands Division of Banking and Insurance, which will assume regulatory oversight over securities following the adoption of the Uniform Securities Act by the U.S. Virgin Islands in February.

Widmann also noted that the CRD/IARD Steering Committee, which includes NASAA and NASD representatives, has held preliminary discussions concerning the process of granting the U.S. Virgin Islands full functionality within the Central Registration Depository (CRD), a computerized database that contains the licensing and disciplinary histories on more than 650,000 securities professionals and 5,200 securities firms.

“Now that the U.S. Virgin Islands has been admitted into NASAA, the time has come to move ahead and bring the Virgin Islands into the CRD system as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Widmann said.

NASAA is the oldest international organization devoted to investor protection. In addition to the U.S. Virgin Islands, NASAA’s membership consists of securities administrators in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico.

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