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SEC nominee vows 'unrelenting' Wall Street enforcement
President Obama's nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will vow "bold and unrelenting" enforcement of Wall Street before Congress Tuesday.
Mary Jo White, the former federal prosecutor and white-collar defense attorney, underlined a number of key areas she would focus on if confirmed as head of the Wall Street watchdog, according to prepared testimony released Monday, one day before her appearance before the Senate Banking Committee.
Among her priorities would be boosting the SEC's technology and conducting rigorous economic analysis for new rules. But the prosecutor who had previously gone after mob bosses and terrorists will make clear she wants to beef up the SEC's enforcement efforts, amidst growing discontent that bad actors in the financial sector have not been adequately punished.
"If confirmed, it will be a high priority through my tenure to further strengthen the enforcement function of the SEC — it must be fair, but it also must be bold and unrelenting," her testimony states. "Investors and all market participants need to know that the playing field of our markets is level and all wrongdoers — individual and institutional, of whatever position or size — will be aggressively and successfully pursued by the SEC."
"You don't want to mess with Mary Jo," he said. "Mary Jo does not intimidate easily."
Beyond enforcement, White will say she wants to bolster the SEC's technological capacity, so it can better keep up with the constantly changing trading activities in financial markets. And she will seek to assuage a common business and industry gripe about the SEC's rule making, assuring the agency will consider the economic impact of its rules when drafting them. Business groups and Republicans have regularly criticized regulators for failing to conduct sufficient economic analysis when writing rules, and White said such analysis is vital to any regulatory efforts.
"Such transparent and robust analysis, including consideration of the costs and benefits, will help ensure that effective and optimal solutions are achieved without unnecessary burdens or competitive harm," her testimony states.
White will commit to complete major regulatory work implementing the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act "expeditiously," and will tell senators "there is no higher calling than public service."
At that same hearing, Richard Cordray will attempt to win over senators in an effort to be re-confirmed as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Cordray had to be installed to the position via a contentious recess appointment in January 2012, after Republicans blocked his nomination. Obama re-nominated Cordray for the position one year later, but GOP lawmakers are still vowing to block his selection without structural changes to the bureau.
In his testimony, Cordray will tout the work the bureau has accomplished since becoming director, including new initiatives targeting abuses in credit cards, mortgages, and student loans, as well as other efforts.
"If confirmed, I pledge that I will do all I can to carry out and enforce the law that Congress passed to protect consumers and help consumer financial markets emerge from the devastating financial collapse," his testimony states.
