STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 16 September 2015

[Demeter]

6. Lehman Anniversary: A Reminder That the SEC Needs Someone a Lot Better Than Mary Jo White as Chairma

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/09/lehman-anniversary-a-reminder-that-the-sec-needs-someone-a-lot-better-than-mary-jo-white-as-chairman.html

By Becky Bond, CREDO Vice President and Political Director
The collapse of Lehman Brothers seven years ago today was the signature moment in a financial crash brought on by recklessness, greed, and outright fraud. Every year since, the anniversary of the Lehman collapse has offered us the opportunity to ask whether we have learned this lesson.

In the case of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Jo White, the answer is clearly, “no.” Today, Mary Jo White represents a pre-Lehman mentality of deference to Wall Street – and it is long past time for her to go.

In an era when we need strong regulators reining in corrupt and out-of-control companies, White’s SEC is most famous for its dysfunction and for granting “get out of jail free” waivers to criminal banks.

The Project on Government Oversight (POGO), a respected government watchdog group, recently sent a letter to President Obama requesting that he ask Mary Jo White to step down as chair of the SEC, and designate a new head of the agency. As POGO put it, “White’s views have often aligned with those of her former Wall Street clients.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren penned White a scathing letter expressing deep disappointment and accusing the SEC chair of deliberately misleading her in a meeting....MORE