Goldschmid Named to Board of New Regulatory Agency
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Goldschmid, senior counsel at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner, was one of 11 public governors appointed to FINRA’s 23-member interim board of governors. He is one of 14 interim board members who will continue to serve on FINRA’s three-year transition board. Elections for the remaining seats will take place on October 26, 2007.
FINRA is the result of a consolidation of the United States brokerage industry’s two major watchdogs, NASD and the member regulation, enforcement and arbitration operations of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Wall Street firms had pushed for a merger to eliminate the overlap of NASD and NYSE operations, saying it was time-consuming and costly to answer to both. The consolidation became effective July 30, 2007.
“Combining these two structures will create more effectiveness and more efficiency in regulating the broker-dealer industry,” said Goldschmid. “The board of governors faces the exciting task of ensuring a smooth transition for this critically important new entity.”
FINRA will conduct the regulatory oversight of more than 5,000 securities firms and 666,000 registered representatives. It will be responsible for rule writing, firm examination, enforcement and arbitration and mediation functions, along with all functions previously overseen solely by NASD.
Goldschmid, whose current research and teaching focus on corporate law, securities regulation and antitrust, served as a commissioner of the SEC from 2002 to 2005. He was formerly the general counsel for the SEC from 1998 to 1999 and thereafter served as special senior advisor to SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Columbia Law School in 1965 and a B.A., also magna cum laude, from Columbia College in 1962.
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