Biden Taps Gensler as SEC Chairman, Chopra as CFPB Director

(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Joe Biden has picked a pair of veteran regulators strongly backed by progressive Democrats to lead two key Wall Street watchdogs, signaling that his administration is planning tough oversight after four years of light-touch GOP rule.

Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler will be nominated to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Trade Commission member Rohit Chopra is being tapped to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to people familiar with the decision.

The selections follow weeks of intra-party wrangling over the financial regulation posts between moderate Democrats and those on the party’s left wing who want to see a sharp departure from business friendly policies advanced during the Trump administration. They are bad news for the banking industry, which has been bracing for the prospect of stiffer rules since Biden was elected in November.

Gensler, 63, is a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner who gained a reputation was a Wall Street scourge when he engaged in bruising battles while advancing derivatives regulation at the CFTC during the Obama administration. Chopra, 38, is an acolyte of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren who helped her set up the CFPB before she ran for office.

Both nominees will be subject to Senate confirmation, and the SEC and CFPB are likely to be under interim leaders until that process is completed.

If confirmed, Gensler would take charge of an agency that some Democrats say has grown too cozy with the banking industry. He would immediately need to address market disruptions stemming from the coronavirus pandemic and the escalating U.S. feud with China over public company audits.

At CFPB, Chopra faces pressure to make good on Biden’s promise to have the agency crack down on private lenders that mislead student borrowers. He’ll also be expected to fulfill campaign pledges to address discriminatory lending policies .

(Updates with Senate confirmation required in third paragraph)