If Mary Schapiro's the Answer...

...it was probably a stupid question.

Sleazy Stocks mag cover girl gets SEC nod

President-elect Barack Obama will Thursday announce that Mary Schapiro, chief executive of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), will be nominated as chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. FINRA, the securities industry’s largest self-regulatory organization, was formed last year in the merger of the former NASD Regulation (which she had joined as president in 1996) and the regulatory arm of the New York Stock Exchange.

Schapiro took the NASD-R’s money after putting in 15 months as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; before that she was, from 1988-1993, a member of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including a short stint as acting chairman early in the Clinton administration.

Schapiro has troubled these pixels but once, when we reported that in 2003, during a period when she was opining vociferously on hedge fund-related broker-dealer disclosures and the adequacy thereof, her valiant sleuths swept through the offices of Bayou Securities LLC in Scamford, Conn.

There, they found $8500 worth of allowing “two individuals to execute transactions...without first obtaining registration as equity traders…” and failing “to update written supervisory procedures reasonably designed to achieve compliance with said regulations…” The missing however-many-hundreds-of-millions it was by then quite escaped their attention as, boxes all checked and wrist-taps to come, the sleuths boarded the train back to Boston.

Nobody else has spent so long at such high levels of the long captured US securities regulation complex. She has been a big part of building the regulatory problem for two decades; Stockholm Syndrome means she is unfit to be part of the solution.

Obama to Announce S.E.C. Chairwoman
By Jeff Zeleny
The Caucus (NYT) Dec. 17 2008

Mary Schapiro’s ‘Fantastic’ Reading List
By Gary Weiss
Sep. 7 2007

Mary Schapiro biography

(Much) Earlier on NakedShorts:
Looking in all the wrong places
Sep. 18 2005

Comments

[Ingenue:]

I am still scratching my head wondering what happened to the word "change." It has either been misused by the Obama campaign or misunderstood by the rest of us.

I always taught change meant "something different than what came before."

Right now, you can call Obama's administration Clinton's third term as president.

And again we see this happening in Shapiro's appointment. She is part of the problem, the SEC will never be improved by the same people who got us to this point to begin with.

Mark my words, this is not the last failing of this agency.

2008 Dec 18 07:11 AM

[sidestick:]

As we've seen, unfortunately, Conservatives' assertion that business could "self-regulate" was simply wrong. Businessmen couldn't 'self-regulate" themselves out of a paper bag! They appear only good enough to ask for and receive "government welfare" when their mistakes get them, and their companies, in trouble. Shapiro's appointment may not be the big change many of us want because the deadly wrong Conservative "Free Market" "self-regulatory" mantra still holds some sway in Washington, despite its complete and utter failure.

2008 Dec 18 10:47 AM

[OldLimey:]

Business as usual. It's beginning to look increasingly like 'change' is a rhetorical tool rather than a mission, but maybe if the new administration bails out enough average folk with enough of their own tax dollars nobody will care. Pity.

Of course, the creative misuse of words by politicians is not a purely American phenomenon. It's only within the last few weeks that Gordon Brown has stopped parroting at every opportunity that Britain's economy is "fundamentally strong". Everything's getting devalued thses days - currencies, assets, words.

2008 Dec 18 10:53 AM

[Lex Luz:]

I think as long as you understand that the SEC's charter is to protect securities dealers from the prying eyes of individual investors, then the sensibility of this appointment is clear. In fact, the charter of all government institutions now is to protect the state and its closest stakeholders from the people. History is rhyming indeed.

Right-wing nutjobs terrified of the wickedness threatened by the Obamanation can rest easy. Obama is a fascist's dream: he makes people feel just GREAT about being enslaved to the state and its corporate masters.

Change? Riiiiiiight.

2008 Dec 18 10:57 AM

[Lex Luz:]

Meant also to say that the charter is to protect publicly-traded corporations and their officers, as well as securities dealers, from investors... of course.


On Dec 18 10:57 AM Lex Luz wrote:

> I think as long as you understand that the SEC's charter is to protect
> securities dealers from the prying eyes of individual investors,
> then the sensibility of this appointment is clear. In fact, the charter
> of all government institutions now is to protect the state and its
> closest stakeholders from the people. History is rhyming indeed.
>
>
> Right-wing nutjobs terrified of the wickedness threatened by the
> Obamanation can rest easy. Obama is a fascist's dream: he makes people
> feel just GREAT about being enslaved to the state and its corporate
> masters.
>
> Change? Riiiiiiight.

2008 Dec 18 11:27 AM

[bonddude:]

Ole Mary was part of the effort to squeeze small B/Ds by pushing T+3. The result was customers were pushed into the arms of the crooks that she did not properly audit and are now out of business. Just another crass politician with a political agenda. So take it easy knee-jerk apologist who don't know what the _____ you are talking about.

2008 Dec 18 11:33 AM

[NotinMarket:]

One more thing...
Why does Madoff have any assets AT ALL. Everything he owns was purchased by fraudulent activities. He still has his apt and houses ???
When the Mafia or drug dealers get busted they lose everything; confiscated on the spot.. RICO statutes.
The SEC and the attorney general are in on it.
One more thing: Only one charge against him. WTF is that ??
He should have over 200 charges against him. One for each charge.

Moreover he files false income tax statements, used the US mail to send out his statements, made false 1099-Div statements, Didn't pay income tax on his 50 billion dollar profit.. ( illegal money is still taxable ).

All he gets is just one charge against him and he gets to live in his home purchased by stolen money. By association his wife's property is also subject to confiscation.

Something stinks here..

2008 Dec 18 11:56 AM

[Socialism c...:]

"As we've seen, unfortunately, Conservatives' assertion that business could "self-regulate&qu.... was simply wrong. Businessmen couldn't 'self-regulate" themselves out of a paper bag!"

Um...yeah...they took the "opportunities" like subprime lending that the Socialist Dems pushed at them. Whose really to blame?? Not excusing the greed...but they didn't foresee the collapse -- on the other hand, our politicians KNOW socialism doesn't work...but they continue pushing it, because it means expanding the reach of government, and therefore more power for THEM.

2008 Dec 18 02:13 PM

[Socialism c...:]

"Nobody else has spent so long at such high levels of the long captured US securities regulation complex. She has been a big part of building the regulatory problem for two decades;"

Strong reference to the "Peter Principle"?

2008 Dec 18 02:14 PM