SECTION
15(a) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
15
U.S.C. § 78o(a) (1988)
(1) It
shall be unlawful for any broker or dealer which is either a person other than
a natural person or a natural person not associated with a broker or dealer
which is a person other than a natural person (other than such a broker or
dealer whose business is exclusively intrastate and who does not make use of
any facility of a national securities exchange) to make use of the mails or any
means or instrumentality of interstate commerce to effect any transactions in,
or to induce or attempt to induce the purchase or sale of, any security (other
than an exempted security or commercial paper, bankers' acceptances, or
commercial bills) unless such broker or dealer is registered in accordance with
subsection (b) of this section.
(2) The
Commission, by rule or order, as it deems consistent with the public interest
and the protection of investors, may conditionally or unconditionally exempt
from paragraph (1) of this subsection any broker or dealer or class of brokers
or dealers specified in such rule or order.