The headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. Gensler said the agency would lose more than 90% of its workforce to unpaid furloughs, leaving a "skeletal" staff to perform essential functions. "If a company were deciding to go public or raise offerings, they'd want to go effective before Friday if they're ready to," Gensler said. Gensler also acknowledged that should a major disruption occur on Wall Street, "senior leadership would be there but again we'd be down to a skeletal staff." Major Wall Street indices were down markedly shortly toward 1700 GMT, adding to recent days' losses driven by investor concerns about the path of interest rates, with a possible shutdown also weighing on trading.

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Persons: Andrew Kelly, Gary Gensler, Gensler, we'd, Joe Biden, Douglas Gillison, Lance Tupper, Lewis Krauskopf, Paul Simao, David Holmes, Alistair Bell Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Birkenstock, Wednesday, Washington, Democratic, SEC, Republican, Clarios, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, Washington, New York