US Securities and Exchange Commission chief Mary Schapiro announced today that she will step down, nearly four years after taking charge of the key markets regulator in the middle of the financial crisis.
Schapiro will depart as SEC chairman on December 14 credited with expanding the SEC's reach into derivatives and hedge funds while helping Wall Street recover both in strength and confidence.
Her record also includes a key role in expanding and deepening regulation, mainly through the Dodd-Frank
legislation that has riled her charges in the financial industry.
President Barack Obama quickly named current SEC commissioner Elisse Walter to succeed Schapiro.
Walter, 62, who must be confirmed by the Senate, has been on the SEC board since 2008; before that she worked at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
"It has been an incredibly rewarding experience to work with so many dedicated SEC staff who strive every day to protect investors and ensure our markets operate with integrity," Schapiro said in a statement.
"Over the past four years we have brought a record number of enforcement actions, engaged in one of the busiest rulemaking periods, and gained greater authority from Congress to better fulfill our mission."
Schapiro took over the SEC in January 2009, appointed by President Barack Obama just after he took office.
She came in as financial markets were in freefall and numerous investment banks, securities houses and commercial banks were foundering.
Under her guidance, the SEC took a lead role in rewriting industry regulation via the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and has moved to expand its oversight powers into derivatives and over hedge funds. The SEC also launched a whistle-blower programme to encourage and reward informants on major violations of securities laws.
The SEC said that under Schapiro, its enforcement activity has rapidly increased to hit 734 actions in fiscal
2012. Last week the SEC brought its largest insider trading suit to date, implicating the giant hedge fund manager SAC Capital in charges that one of SAC's managers had obtained secret reports on drug tests by two pharmaceutical companies to rack up $276 million in illicit trading gains.
Under Schapiro the SEC has moved to better oversee program trading that has sparked "flash crashes" in stocks and the markets.
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