Washington, D.C., September 20, 2001 – The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) today issued the following statement pledging to help securities firms in the aftermath of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon:

“The immediate focus of my tenure as NASAA President will be to work with my fellow state and federal regulators to help the securities industry and our financial markets deal with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings,” said Joseph Borg, the new President of NASAA and director of the Alabama Securities Commission. “I will be urging state regulators to make all reasonable allowances for firms that are recovering from this tragedy. In Alabama, for example, we are processing requests from small firms for duplicate files on an “immediate need” basis. The NASAA Board of Directors will soon be meeting via conference call and will discuss these and other ways we can help the securities industry get back to normal. NASAA has been and will remain in close contact with our regulatory counterparts at the SEC, NASD Regulation and the exchanges.

“At the same time, we will do all we can to protect Main Street investors against con artists and others who will seek to take advantage of this uncertain and fearful time. Earlier this week, NASAA issued a warning about opportunistic scams in the wake of these terrorist attacks. This warning is posted on our website (www.nasaa.org). While the stock market remains volatile, our economy remains the most diverse and productive in the world. Investors would be wise to stay calm and take the long view.”