WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Gary Gensler, a senior financial regulator in the Obama administration, is expected to be appointed chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by President-elect Joe Biden in the coming days, two sources said familiar with this matter on Tuesday.
Gensler served as chair of the Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2009 to 2014 and, since November, has led Biden’s transition planning for the supervision of the financial industry.
Gensler did not respond to a request for comment.
A Biden spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The appointment of Gensler as the country’s leading securities regulator is likely to mean a four-year reversal of the rules enjoyed by Wall Street banks, brokers, funds and public companies under President Donald’s SEC chairman. Trump, Jay Clayton.
At the CFTC, Gensler has implemented new rules for trading swaps mandated by Congress in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, developing a reputation as a tough, fear-free operator.
A former Goldman Sachs banker and professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Gensler has also overseen the prosecution of major investment banks for rigging Libor, the benchmark for billions of dollars in global lending.
Written by Michelle Price, edited by Rosalba O’Brien and Howard Goller