SEC’s White hopes regulator will continue to be ‘aggressive’

Chair at the SEC, Mary Jo White, announced departure from position earlier this month.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Mary Jo White has expressed hope that the regulator will continue to be “aggressive and strong” following her departure.

White explained in a speech to the New York University of Law that changes in the landscape of SEC enforcement have allowed the regulator to become more aggressive.

“I would hope – and expect – that the significant enhancements we have made will be continued in future years, with the SEC acting as an aggressive and strong regulator of the federal securities laws, consistently looking to broaden our impact and strengthen deterrence of wrongdoing,” she said.

Earlier this month, White announced she will leave her position as Chair at the SEC at the end of President Obama’s administration.

She became chair at the regulator in April 2013 and has driven major financial reforms and regulations during her time with the US watchdog. 

Under White’s leadership, the SEC brought more than 2,850 enforcement actions, more than any other three-year period in its history and obtained judgments and orders totalling more than $13.4 billion in monetary sanctions.

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