Mary Schapiro, the first woman to serve as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will join investment bank Morgan Stanley’s board of directors in July.
The 63-year-old, who led the SEC from 2009 to 2012, a period when government regulators were grappling with a global financial crisis that had required billions of dollars in bailouts to shore up the financial system, is now vice chair of the Promontory Financial Group’s advisory board. She also serves on the boards of CVS Health and the London Stock Exchange Group.
Schapiro “brings strong finance, risk management and regulatory expertise,” Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer James Gorman said in a statement. Her resume includes chairing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 1994 to 1996 and leading the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street’s self-regulation body, from 2006 to 2008.
Former government regulators are prized by Wall Street boards for their insight on policy and rule-making. Wells Fargo named Elizabeth Duke, a Federal Reserve governor from 2008 to 2013, as its chair early this year, and Bank of America’s board includes Susan Bies, a Fed governor from 2001 to 2006.
When Schapiro was sworn in as SEC chair in 2009, she committed to “reinvigorating a financial regulatory system that must protect investors and vigorously enforce the rules,” a focus for lawmakers concerned about the trillions of dollars wiped out as U.S. capital markets lost nearly half their value during the 2008 crisis, as well as by company disclosures in the buildup to it.
During her tenure, the agency won a record $550 settlement from Morgan Stanley rival Goldman Sachs on claims that the bank misled investors about a high-risk mortgage security as the $15 trillion U.S. housing market was starting to collapse.
Schapiro was “fully aware of the difficulties” facing both the commission and the U.S. economy when she agreed to take the job, former President Barack Obama said when she stepped down. “But she accepted the challenge, and today, the SEC is stronger and our financial system is safer and better able to serve the American people — thanks in large part to Mary’s hard work.
Morgan Stanley fell 0.3 percent to $47.79 in New York trading on Tuesday. The shares have still climbed 8.6 percent in the past 12 months.
