President elect-Barack Obama’s choice to head the Securities and Exchange Commission promised today to revitalize the embattled agency’s enforcement efforts and bring other changes to bolster investor protection.
With investors’ confidence shaken in the financial crisis, Mary Schapiro said the SEC must be given the resources it needs to investigate and pursue “those who cut corners, cheat investors and break the law.”
Schapiro also pledged at her Senate confirmation hearing to “re-engage” the SEC with investors, and to deepen the agency’s commitment to investor protection, transparency and accountability. She is chief executive of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the securities industry’s primary self-policing organization, and also has extensive experience as a government regulator in Washington.
Obama named Schapiro as the next SEC chairman at a time when the agency is being called on to help restore investor confidence shattered by the worst financial crisis in more than 70 years. The SEC also has faced heavy criticism over its failure to discover the $50 billion Ponzi scheme allegedly run by money manager Bernard Madoff — despite credible allegations against him being brought to the agency over the course of a decade.
Members of the Senate Banking Committee assailed the SEC, saying it contributed to the crisis with lax oversight of Wall Street and the financial markets, while calling for a thorough shake-up of the agency and its processes for detecting fraud. (AP)
