SEC Official Blasts Congress-Created Oversight Panel

A top U.S. securities regulator blasted a council of financial-industry overseers established by Congress, comparing it to a firing squad and a death panel. Securities and Exchange Commission member Michael Piwowar described the Financial Stability Oversight Council as a “Firing Squad on Capitalism,” alternatively referring to it as part of the “vast left wing conspiracy to hinder capital formation” and “The Dodd-Frank Politburo.” The comments are the latest in a continuing turf battle between SEC officials and the FSOC, with Mr. Piwowar and other SEC members warning that their agency has been undercut by the council. The 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulatory overhaul created FSOC—and charged it with deciding which large financial firms should be labeled as systemically risky and subject to stricter oversight from the Federal Reserve. More in the Wall Street Journal here.