Biden to tap Obama-era regulator Gensler to lead SEC: Sources

Gary Gensler was chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2009 to 2014.

Gary Gensler's appointment as the country's top securities regulator likely means a reversal of four years of Trump administration rule-easing for Wall Street [File: J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo]

Gary Gensler, a leading financial regulator under the administration of US President Barack Obama, is expected to be named chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by President-elect Joe Biden in coming days, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency on Tuesday.

Gensler was chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2009 to 2014, and since November has led Biden’s transition planning for financial industry oversight.

Gensler did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

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

Gensler’s appointment as the country’s top securities regulator likely means a reversal of four years of the rule-easing that Wall Street banks, brokers, funds and public companies have enjoyed under President Donald Trump’s SEC chair Jay Clayton.

At the CFTC, Gensler implemented new swaps trading rules mandated by Congress following the 2007-2009 financial crisis, developing a reputation as a hard-nosed operator unafraid of ruffling feathers.

A former Goldman Sachs banker and a professor at MIT Sloan School of Management, Gensler also oversaw the prosecution of big investment banks for rigging the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), the benchmark for trillions of dollars in lending worldwide.

Source: Reuters