Obama Taps Schapiro as SEC Chair

Barack Obama named Mary Schapiro as chair of the beleaguered SEC today, the Wall Street Journal reports. Schapiro's hefty resume includes stints as an SEC commissioner under former presidents Reagan and Bush, and another as acting commissioner in 1993 by Bill Clinton. Since then, Schapiro served on and eventually headed the National Association of Securities Dealers.

Schapiro presided over the merger of NASD with its NYSE counterpart that created the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Her experience will be "invaluable as the regulatory restructuring process goes forward," said Robert Glauber, a former NASD chief. But not all share that view: "Finra has not put much of a dent in fraud," under Schapiro, said one industry watcher.
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