Gary Gensler, who led the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2009 to 2014, will be nominated by President-elect Joe Biden to be the new chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),
Reuters reported. Gensler is seen as someone who will be more aggressive toward, and less forgiving of, regulated entities—banks, brokers, funds and public companies—than the previous SEC head, Jay Clayton. During his tenure at the CFTC, Gensler oversaw a raft of new regulations in response to the financial crisis, as well as the prosecution of big banks for their role in the
LIBOR rigging scandal.
The
New York Times predicted that Gensler might press requirements for companies to disclose political donations, revise stock buyback rules, create a diversity disclosure requirement, mandate climate change risk disclosures, and create rules around blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Gensler will need the Senate to confirm his position; in the meanwhile, the SEC is currently being led by
Elad Roisman, who is serving as acting chair.