SEC’s Schapiro testifies to Congress
TEXT OF STORY
Bill Radke: Wall Street certainly didn’t work like it was supposed to in the financial collapse, and in a few minutes, a key overseer of the Street will testify to Congress. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Schapiro will be asked about that settlement against Goldman Sachs and she’ll address the SEC’s new responsibilities under the financial overhaul law that President Obama will sign tomorrow. Marketplace’s John Dimsdale tells us more.
John Dimsdale: Congress wants to know whether the SEC is up to the task of new regulations on derivatives, hedge funds and credit-rating agencies. The SEC has a less than stellar recent history of policing stock markets and identifying Ponzi schemers.
Chairman Schapiro will say she’s been revamping procedures and strengthening enforcement. But she’ll also ask for a bigger budget to take on the new duties.
Ed Kane, a finance professor at Boston College, says Schapiro has to show Congress there’s a new cop on the beat:
Ed Kane: She’s got a very big task ahead of her. They’ve not really been an agency that watched people closely and acted in a proactive manner.
Schapiro will reportedly ask for 800 new employees to take on extra regulator functions. Those are in addition to the 3,800 already at the agency. Schapiro will also defend the SEC’s $550 million penalty on Goldman Sachs.
In Washington, I’m John Dimsdale for Marketplace.
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