WASHINGTON — President-elect Ba rack Obama is turning to seasoned pros for the herculean task of overhauling the way the U.S. regulates its financial system, an effort he says is one of his top priorities.
His goal: to prevent crises like the one that has shattered Americans’ nest eggs, devastated Wall Street and left the country in a painful recession.
Obama signaled an activist regulatory approach Thursday as he revealed key players on his economic team.
Mary Schapiro, chosen to run the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Gary Gensler, who will head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, have extensive inside-the-Beltway policymaking experience. And Schapiro in particular has built a reputation as a pragmatic regulator who sees the need for close oversight of financial markets.
Obama also picked Dan Tarullo, a Georgetown University law professor with expertise in international economic regulation and banking, to be a member of the Federal Reserve.
Schapiro and Gensler will help lead the charge, working with the Treasury Department, the Fed and Congress to revamp a confusing patchwork of regulations and agencies.
