Dem official: Obama names Mary Schapiro to head SEC

Hopefully this will be a good decision. Schapiro is going to have one of hardest jobs in the country, to try and bring America out of this recession that is quickly headed towards a depression.

A Democratic official says President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Mary Schapiro to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, turning to a veteran of the agency to try to revitalize it.

Schapiro is currently the head of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the largest non-governmental regulator for securities firms doing business with the public. Before that, she served as chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and six years as a member of the SEC.

The SEC has been criticized in recent months for failing to detect signs that major Wall Street banks were in trouble. The financial losses suffered by lending institutions have played a significant role in the current economic crisis.