For Wall Street banks and other companies accused of malfeasance, the risk of getting slapped with a big fine by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will soon drop significantly.
That’s because Kara Stein, the SEC’s lone Democratic commissioner, has to leave the regulator at the beginning of next year. Until President Donald Trumpnominates a successor -- something his business-friendly administration may have little incentive to do -- Republican commissioners will have outsize influence to block cases.
The implications of the SEC’s looming vacancy haven’t gone unnoticed on Capitol Hill. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a vocal critic of banks, said ...