Market ‘cop’ Gensler confirmed as SEC chair 15 April 2021US Reporter: Alex Pugh
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Gary Gensler — academic, former Goldman Sachs executive and Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair — has been confirmed by the US Senate as the new chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after a 53-45 vote.
Gensler has spent his entire career in and around the financial markets; in the private sector, in state and federal government, and most recently in academia as Professor of Practice at MIT Sloan School of Management.
The 63-year-old Democrat’s appointment, replacing acting chair Allison Herron Lee, represents a sea change in the way the US will approach and regulate financial markets going forward. With the Democrats in control of the House, the Senate and the White House, Gensler’s confirmation draws a line under the Trump administration’s laissez-faire approach to the markets.
In his nomination hearing at the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on 2 March, Gensler affirmed the SEC’s mission was to protect investors and to maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets: “When there are clear rules of the road and a cop on the beat to enforce them — our economy grows and our nation prospers,” he said.
“When we take our eyes off the ball — when we fail to root out wrongdoing, or to adapt to new technologies, or to really understand novel financial instruments — things can go very wrong,” Gensler continued.
During that hearing, when asked by Massachusetts' Senator Elizabeth Warren, a longtime regulatory hardliner, whether he would use all the available “tools to make the markets function better”, Gensler said that as SEC chair he would adopt a robust multi-agency holistic approach.
“Senator, if confirmed, I look forward to looking at all of the authorities. Not just this one. But all of the authorities to help protect investors, promote the capital formation and the efficient markets that we talked about.”
Gensler, who teaches a class at MIT called Blockchain and Money, has his eyes firmly on the future, and he is not afraid to introduce new regulations in response to rapidly evolving markets and technology.
“Markets — and technology — are always changing,” he said during his confirmation hearing. “Our rules have to change along with them. In my current role as a professor at MIT, I research and teach on the intersection of technology and finance. I believe financial technology can be a powerful force for good — but only if we continue to harness the core values of the SEC in service of investors, issuers, and the public,” Gensler said.
The SEC welcomed the appointment of Gensler: “A warm congratulations to Gary Gensler on his Senate confirmation to become Chair of the SEC. We welcome him back to public service and look forward to working together to execute our vital mission.”
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) was similarly effervescent: “Chair Gensler’s confirmation underscores decades of accomplishments in both the public and private sector.
“His prior work at the CFTC and the Department of the Treasury, and ongoing efforts at MIT, have positioned him to take the helm as the 33rd SEC Chair. We look forward to working collaboratively with Chair Gensler on critical issues related to market transparency, safety and stability.”
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Image: Wikimedia Commons 