President-elect Barack Obama has nominated Mary Schapiro, the chief executive of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. of New York and Washington, as chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Characterizing her as smart and tough, Obama says that the Bernard Madoff case, in which the trader is charged with conducting a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, has highlighted the need for stronger regulation. Regulators have been asleep at the switch, says Obama.
Schapiro, 53, was appointed an SEC commissioner in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. She became chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 1994 and then president and vice chairman of regulation at NASD, Finras predecessor, in 2004 before being named NASD’s chairwoman and chief executive in 2006.
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