The US Securities and Exchange Commission should fund itself directly from industry fees, a system that would allow it to tackle more complex investigations and invest more in technology and skilled people, Mary Schapiro, its chairman, told the Financial Times.

The SEC rakes in more than $1bn annually in registration and transaction fees but, unlike other US financial regulators, cannot spend any of it without going to Congress each year to get its budget approved. That has made it difficult to plan ahead and invest in multi-year information-technology projects.

“Self-funding has been discussed over the years but I think it may now well be the moment,” Ms Schapiro said in an interview. “Some stability in funding would be an enormous benefit because it would help us with long-term planning in such areas as technology and staffing.”