SEC Chair Gary Gensler will step down Jan. 20, making way for Trump replacement

SEC Chair Gary Gensler will step down Jan. 20, making way for Trump replacement


U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler testifies before a House Financial Services Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. September 27, 2023. 

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler will resign on Jan. 20, the agency announced Thursday, paving the way for President-elect Donald Trump to select a replacement immediately.

Gensler took over the SEC in 2021, and under his leadership the commission has taken an ambitious but controversial approach to several regulatory issues, including cryptocurrencies. Trump has not announced his pick to lead the SEC, but the expectation is that the next chair will be friendlier to Wall Street and crypto.

SEC commissioners serve five-year terms, so Gensler could have in theory stayed on until at least 2026. Instead, he is leaving the agency completely, as was widely expected.

“The staff and the Commission are deeply mission-driven, focused on protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and ensuring that the markets work for investors and issuers alike. The staff comprises true public servants. It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve with them on behalf of everyday Americans and ensure that our capital markets remain the best in the world,” Gensler said in a press release.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler to step down on January 20

Under Gensler, the SEC pushed to require more disclosures from publicly traded companies and financial advisors for investors. The agency also sped-up settlement times for stock trades to just one day, a change spurred in part by the meme-stock trading in early 2021.

Gensler’s SEC has had several high profile disputes with the crypto industry, including a legal fight with Grayscale to block bitcoin ETFs. Grayscale won in court, and billions of dollars have flowed into those new funds since they launched in January. The SEC also sued several large digital asset companies in recent years over how they were handling or selling crypto, including Coinbase, with mixed results.

Trump could have the opportunity to quickly reshape the SEC. In addition to Gensler’s soon-to-be vacant seat, the terms for two of the other four commissioners expire in either 2024 or 2025.

Commissioners can serve up to 18 months beyond the end of their term. Presidential appointments to the SEC are subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.



Source

This ‘quiet luxury’ Italian brand is shaking off tariff woes as sales jump
World

This ‘quiet luxury’ Italian brand is shaking off tariff woes as sales jump

Key Points Brunello Cucinelli posted an estimate-beating 10.7% rise in first half sales as the super-rich shrug off tariff concerns. The retailer also pointed to a solid start to July and confirmed its outlook for around 10% sales growth in 2025 and 2026. Analysts, however, expressed doubt over broad-based growth for the beleaguered sector. Soaring […]

Read More
Jamie Dimon has a blunt message for Europe: ‘You’re losing’
World

Jamie Dimon has a blunt message for Europe: ‘You’re losing’

Key Points Jamie Dimon told an event in Ireland on Thursday that Europe was “losing” on competitiveness and lacked the kind of global, successful corporations common in the U.S. The JPMorgan Chase boss also told an event in Ireland that there was “complacency in the markets” around U.S. tariffs and rates. Dimon said he saw […]

Read More
Norway’s Tesla obsession defies Europe’s Musk backlash
World

Norway’s Tesla obsession defies Europe’s Musk backlash

An electric car at a charging station in the Norwegian capital of Oslo on Sept. 25, 2024. Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images OSLO, Norway — Tesla continues to find solace in Norway, defying a sustained European slump amid a backlash over CEO Elon Musk’s incendiary political rhetoric. The U.S. electric vehicle maker recorded […]

Read More