He was doing what's called "market surveillance" - trying to ferret out traders who were doing things that were too risky or illegal.īanaei says that before Gensler came in, there wasn't much active surveillance of what traders were doing during the trading day. Salman Banaei is a lawyer and economist who worked under Gensler at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. "But to me, the worst financial crisis in 80 years demands the most comprehensive regulatory reform in generations." "I speak to you today as someone who spent half my adult life on Wall Street," Gensler continued. "The crisis threatened the savings and livelihood of every American." "One year ago, the financial system very much failed the American public," Gensler said in 2009 shortly after his confirmation. Gensler testifies on Capitol Hill in 2011 about the implementation of sweeping reforms related to the Dodd-Frank law, which aimed to prevent another financial crisis.
"I would like to see some new and progressive voices, people who don't come from Wall Street, help the president address this very, very difficult crisis," Sanders said. Sanders said Gensler was the wrong guy to reform Wall Street. Bernie Sanders tried to block the nomination. So when President Barack Obama tapped Gensler to be the top regulator overseeing the multitrillion-dollar market for derivatives - the complex financial instruments that helped crash the economy and spark the Great Recession - Sen. He's a math whiz who made millions of dollars early in his career working at Goldman Sachs, where he became the firm's then youngest partner. That's because, in some ways, Gensler is the ultimate Wall Street insider. They say that there is much to do to protect everyday Americans who invest their retirement or other savings in the market and that Gensler has proved he can get that done.īut progressives were a lot more skeptical about Gensler back in 2009 when he was first chosen to be a top financial regulator. Gensler won over many skeptics by pushing through tough reforms after the financial crisis when he ran the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.Ĭonsumer watchdog groups are applauding President Biden's pick of Gary Gensler to run the Securities and Exchange Commission. Gary Gensler, President Biden's pick to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, arrives to testify on Capitol Hill back in 2012.