The Senate has confirmed three new members of the Securities and Exchange Commission by unanimous consent, restoring the SEC to its full strength of five members.
The approved nominees include two Democrats and one Republican. The Democrats are Luis Aguilar (pictured), a partner at the law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge, and Elisse Walter, senior executive vice president for regulatory policy and programs at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The new Republican commissioner is Washington University professor Troy Paredes.
Aguilar , who replaces Roel Campos, will serve until mid-2010. Walter is replacing Annette Nazareth, and her term will end in mid-2012. Parades will serve a full term until June 2013. He succeeds Paul Atkins.
"The president and the Senate have given the SEC three outstanding commissioners," said SEC Chairman Christoper Cox in a statement. "I look forward to welcoming them to their important positions of leadership in the finest securities regulatory agency in the world. The SEC has laid out an ambitious agenda to improve investor protection and financial markets regulation, and a full complement of commissioners will help us achieve those important objectives."
Among the items on the SEC agenda are setting a roadmap for the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards, overhauling the financial disclosure system, and improving the oversight of credit-rating agencies. The SEC also plans to upgrade its Edgar system by the end of the year and has proposed to begin requiring public companies to file financial statements in the Extensible Business Reporting Language format.
