SIFMA closely monitors pandemics and their potential impact on the financial industry and the capital markets. Our priority, on behalf of our members and the clients they serve, is to keep markets operational, resilient and efficient.

COVID-19 was unsparing in its impact around the world, permeating nearly every aspect of life. Beyond the direct and severe effects on health and wellness, how we live and work has changed in ways many of us previously thought unthinkable.

On behalf of the industry and markets, SIFMA monitors responses and resources related to pandemics including COVID-19. This includes important information for personnel identified as essential critical infrastructure workers as well as technical observations and considerations for our industry’s regulators.  

Business Continuity Planning

Financial services is a critical infrastructure sector as defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Its assets, systems and networks, whether physical or virtual, are so vital to the U.S. that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security and national public health or safety.

In the event of a significant incident that affects or has the potential to affect the operations of the financial system, SIFMA helps to coordinate the financial industry’s business continuity planning efforts. These efforts are managed through SIFMA’s Emergency Crisis Management Command Center, which identifies the status of industry participants, disseminates vital information and facilitates actions to assist market response and recovery. Coordination is arranged amongst financial firms, exchanges, industry utilities, regulators, government agencies and public sector emergency managers. SIFMA also has an Emergency Site for industry alerts.  SIFMA regularly engages in BCP exercises and we have a high degree of confidence in the industry’s ability to respond to and recover from emergencies.  We continue to monitor the situation closely.