Exclusive: Biden to appoint Gary Gensler as US SEC chairman, sources say

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Gary Gensler, a leading financial regulator under the Obama administration, is expected to be appointed chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by President-elect Joe Biden in the coming days, have said two sources familiar with the matter. Tuesday.

Gensler served as Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2009 to 2014 and, since November, has been leading Biden’s transition planning for financial sector supervision.

Gensler did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gensler’s appointment as the nation’s leading securities regulator likely signifies a four-year reversal of the relaxation of rules that Wall Street banks, brokers, funds and state-owned companies have benefited from under the president. from the SEC of President Donald Trump, Jay Clayton.

At the CFTC, Gensler implemented new congressionally mandated swap trading rules in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, developing a reputation as an uncompromising operator unafraid of ruffled feathers.

A former Goldman Sachs banker and professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Gensler has also overseen lawsuits against major investment banks for rigging Libor, the benchmark for billions of dollars in lending around the world.