The Senate on Monday confirmed Mary Jo White as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, dismissing concerns about her close ties to the Wall Street banks she will now oversee. Ms. White, a former federal prosecutor who spent the last decade defending JPMorgan Chase and other big banks, secured Senate approval by unanimous consent. Ms. White is expected to join the agency in the coming days, replacing Elisse B. Walter, who has led the S.E.C. since the departure of Mary L. Schapiro in December. Her arrival at the post comes at a time of transition for the S.E.C. and the public markets it regulates. The agency is under pressure from Congress to complete new rules for Wall Street and take aim at financial fraud. It also most confront the growing world of high-frequency trading, a business that continues to confound the agency, and money market funds, which the S.E.C. is seeking to rein in. Read New York Times report here.
