Paul Atkins, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 52 to 44 vote Wednesday, news that sparked both congratulations and criticism.
"MSRB congratulates Chair Atkins on his confirmation and looks forward to partnering with him to advance our shared regulatory priorities on strengthening the municipal securities market and fostering innovation, competition and capital formation," Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board CEO Mark Kim said in a statement provided to The Bond Buyer on Thursday.
In a joint statement issued Wednesday, Acting Chairman of the SEC Mark T. Uyeda, Commissioner Hester M. Peirce and Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw welcomed Atkins as the next SEC chairman. Prior to founding Patomak Global Partners, a strategy, risk management and compliance consultancy established in 2009, Atkins served as an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008.
"A veteran of our commission, we look forward to him joining with us, along with our dedicated staff, to fulfill our mission on behalf of the investing public," their joint statement said.
Also on Wednesday, the
"FINRA stands ready to support Chairman Atkins' efforts to bring smart, effective and appropriately tailored regulation to benefit all market participants," its statement said.
Atkins "brings notable experience and knowledge to the role and SIFMA looks forward to working with him as chairman to ensure our nation's capital markets remain robust and resilient and play their part in fueling economic growth and job creation," SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. said in a
News that the Senate had voted to confirm the nomination of Atkins triggered a different response from Better Markets, a non-profit organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
"Atkins can be expected to take orders from the White House, politicize the SEC, mindlessly cut key staff, deregulate the industry, gut the enforcement professionals, side with management over investors, and generally undermine the mission and mandate of the SEC," Dennis M. Kelleher, co-founder, president and CEO of Better Markets, said in a
As was the case when Atkins was an SEC commissioner, "Wall Street's megafirms and politically favored companies will be protected while investors will be left to protect themselves," Kelleher's statement said.
With U.S. financial markets experiencing "extreme stress and volatility" due to President Trump's "erratic policy announcements," Americans need an independent SEC chair who will supervise and police those markets vigilantly in order to protect investors and prevent crashes, Kelleher said.
"Unfortunately, the newly confirmed SEC Chair Paul Atkins will likely do the opposite and at the worst possible time," Kelleher's statement said.
