Gary Gensler & Sec

Gary Gensler, the SEC Chair and former Goldman Sachs banker, faced House Financial Services Committee scrutiny on September 27, 2023, regarding SEC policies on cryptocurrencies and accounting guidance. Republicans criticized his regulatory proposals, with some industry groups suing the SEC. Industry discontent stems from limited input, transparency, and data sharing in policymaking.

Ralph Fontones

10/10/20231 min read

person using phone and laptop computer
person using phone and laptop computer

Gary Gensler is an American government official and former Goldman Sachs investment banker. He is currently serving as the Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Gensler previously led the Biden–Harris transition’s Federal Reserve, Banking, and Securities Regulators agency review team. Before his appointment as SEC Chair, he was a professor of Practice of Global Economics and Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Gensler served as the 11th chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under President Barack Obama from May 26, 2009, to January 3, 2014. He has also held positions such as Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance (1999–2001) and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Markets (1997–1999).

Gary Gensler, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), was grilled by the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, September 27th, 2023. During the hearing, Gensler faced questions about the SEC’s policies and actions regarding cryptocurrencies. He was also taken to task over accounting guidance in a 2022 staff bulletin. Gensler argued that crypto firms dangerously mix assets in a way outlawed in other corners of the financial system. The hearing was a forum for Republicans to attack Gensler for being overzealous and overreaching in his rulemaking proposals. Republicans are increasingly apoplectic about the more than 40 rules Gensler has been proposing, especially now that he has begun adopting them. Some financial trade associations have sued the SEC over its new Private Funds Adviser Rule, which requires registered private fund advisers to undergo an annual financial statement audit. The complaints from the industry have been mounting for over a year: too many rules, no time for industry input, no roundtable discussions or guidance, and no sharing of data used to make policy decisions. The tone of the industry commentary toward Gensler has become increasingly hostile and bitter.

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