Gary G. Gensler

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Gary Gensler
Occupation Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Location Washington, D.C.
Web site www.cftc.gov

Gary Gensler is the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).[1] He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the position on May 19, 2009. He was nonminated to head the CFTC in December of 2008 by president-elect Barack Obama.[2] Gensler succeeded acting CFTC chairman Michael Dunn.

Background

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On March 17, 2009, the Senate Agriculture Committee approved the nomination of Gensler as chairman of the federal agency, sending it on to the full Senate.[3] On May 19, 2009, the U.S. Senate confirmed Gensler to head the CFTC.[4]

However, Senator Bernie Sanders and another unidentified lawmaker placed a hold on the nomination[5] because Gensler had previously worked alongside Robert E. Rubin and Alan Greenspan to block CFTC proposals to regulate credit default swaps. He also supported the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which enabled the merger of banks, stock brokerage companies, and insurance companies. [6] [7] Credit default swaps have been blamed for having played a role in the collapse of American International Group and Bear Stearns.[8] As head of the CFTC, Gensler is expected to play a central role in cleaning up the wreckage caused by some credit default swaps. [9]

Baltimore native[10] Gensler served in the Department of Treasury from 1997 to 2001, first as Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets and later as Under Secretary for Domestic Finance.[11] While assistant Treasury secretary, on Sept. 20, 1998 Gensler visited the offices of Long-Term Capital Management, along with New York Federal Reserve President William McDonough and Executive Vice President Peter Fisher and bankers from J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, to inspect the books of the hedge fund. They discovered the notional value of all of LTCM's position totaled a surprising $1 trillion.[12] This visit was the day before McDonough decided to intervene in the LTCM situation.[13] Gensler subsequently testified to the U.S. House Committee on Banking and Financial Services in May of 1999 about a report from the President's Working Group on Financial Markets titled "Hedge Funds, Leverage, and the Lessons of Long-Term Capital Management."[14]

He subsequently acted as a senior advisor to Senator Paul Sarbanes, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, on drafting the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

As undersecretary for domestic finance in 2000, Gensler publicly backed legislation that would have cut Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's then $2.25 billion line of credit with Treasury.[15] The remarks roiled the debt markets, causing investors to dump securities issued by the two government sponsored enterprises. Subsequently the Treasury department issued a statement reassuring the market that Gensler's testimony did not portend to a policy shift and was not consistent with longstanding Clinton administration policies in this area.[16][17]

Previously, Gensler spent 18 years with Goldman Sachs, where he was co-head of finance, responsible for worldwide controller and Treasury functions. Gensler was a senior advisor for the Hillary Clinton for President Exploratory Committee. He was a Hillraiser fundraiser for Clinton and later contributed to the presidential election campaign of Barack Obama.[18]

He was also the co-author of the book The Great Mutual Fund Trap,[19] which promoted the idea that active trading and investing is an inefficient strategy for individual investors, and that individuals should stick with index and exchange traded funds.[20] Ironically, Gensler's twin brother Robert Gensler runs an actively-managed fund for T. Rowe Price. In a 2003 column, Marketwatch columnist Paul B. Farrell named Gensler and The Great Mutual Fund Trap co-author Greg Baer heroes of fund reform.[21]

Gensler is a past treasurer of the Maryland Democratic Party. He later sought to become party chairman.[22] Gensler was in charge of the Obama transition team reviewing the SEC,[23] and it was speculated he might be put in charge of that agency.

In March of 2006, Gensler was appointed to the board and named audit chair of Wageworks, an educational benefits organization founded in 2000.[24] Gensler has also served audit committee chair of Strayer Education, Inc., treasurer of the Baltimore Museum of Art and Trustee of The Bryn Mawr School and Enterprise Community Partners as well as a number of other community and civic organizations.

Education

Gensler holds an MBA and a bachelor of science degree in economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated summa cum laude.

Testimony

Speeches

Published Works

References

  1. ↑ CME Group Congratulates New CFTC Chairman Gensler. CME Group. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.
  2. ↑ Template:Citeweb
  3. ↑ Choice for CFTC Head Clears Hurdle. AP. Retrieved on March 18, 2009.
  4. ↑ Senate Confirms Gensler To Head CFTC. Yahoo News. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.
  5. ↑ Gensler's path to CFTC faces rocky road. The Guardian. Retrieved on May 12, 2009.
  6. ↑ What's the Problem with Gary Gensler?. The American Prospect. Retrieved on May 4, 2009.
  7. ↑ Bernie Sanders Blocking Key Obama Nomination. Crooks and Liars. Retrieved on May 4, 2009.
  8. ↑ Brighter Side Of 'Evil' Swaps. The Wall St. Journal. Retrieved on May 4, 2009.
  9. ↑ Gary G. Gensler News. The New York Times. Retrieved on May 7, 2009.
  10. ↑ Marylander Gensler to head Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Baltimore Sun. Retrieved on December 20, 2008.
  11. ↑ Gary Gensler Confirmed As Assistant Secretary For Financial Markets. U.S. Treasury. Retrieved on December 18, 2008.
  12. ↑ Case Setup. Risk Institute. Retrieved on December 28, 2008.
  13. ↑ The Failure of Long-Term Capital Management:A Preliminary Assessment By James A. Leach Chairman, House Banking and Financial Services Committee Before House of Representatives, October 12, 1998. U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. Retrieved on December 28, 2008.
  14. ↑ Treasury Under Secretary Gary Gensler Testimony Before The House Committee On Banking And Financial Services. U.S. Treasury Department. Retrieved on December 28, 2008.
  15. ↑ Obama Adviser Summers Backs Push To Break Up GSEs. EasyBourse. Retrieved on December 23, 2008.
  16. ↑ View from Wall Street: The Implied Federal Guarantee Is Key for FHLBanks. Banking on Communities. Retrieved on December 23, 2008.
  17. ↑ Siblings Fat And Sassy. National Journal. Retrieved on December 23, 2008.
  18. ↑ Hillraisers Slow to Donate to Obama, D.N.C.. The New York Observer. Retrieved on December 23, 2008.
  19. ↑ Gary Gensler. WageWorks. Retrieved on December 18, 2008.
  20. ↑ NABE's 50th Annual Meeting, Addressing Future Economic Challenges. National Association for Business Economics. Retrieved on December 23, 2008.
  21. ↑ Heroes and villains in fund reform. MarketWatch. Retrieved on December 23, 2008.
  22. ↑ Marylander Gensler to head Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Baltimore Sun. Retrieved on December 20, 2008.
  23. ↑ Gensler Leads Transition at the SEC. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on December 26, 2008.
  24. ↑ WageWorks Appoints New Board Member. WageWorks. Retrieved on January 1, 2009.
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