Well, that was fast. No sooner had the industry called for a single SRO, the chairman of the SEC publicly outlined plans that would create just that. There are not a lot of details, but the plans would basically merge the NASD and the New York Stock Exchange's regulatory arms. The new entity is expected to be created within months. This "hybrid" would handle all aspects of broker-dealer oversight: membership rules, margin practices and branch office supervision, etc. The NYSE apparently will retain market surveillance over broker-dealers; it has invested millions in a very sophisticated system, so this makes sense. The details will likely produce some devils. Stay tuned.

For more on this:
- Here's a Financial Times article 
- For more on industry regulation read this.