Former CFTC Head Likely to be Named SEC Chair

According to several media reports Gary Gensler, who led the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2009 to 2014 under President Obama, is the Biden Administration pick to head the SEC. The Wall Street Journal writes that Gensler may be favored among liberal Democrats because of Gensler’s record of enforcement actions against major banks and his work on overhauling derivatives market rules under the Dodd Frank Act. According to the WSJ report, progressive groups are hoping that under Gensler’s leadership the SEC will undo some of the actions implemented in the last several years particularly on proxy provisions and will push for more ESG and disclosure related rules around workforce diversity, climate risk and political contributions.