| He has been at the helm (舵)of the
Securities and Exchange Commission for only three months, but William Donaldson
has given individual investors reason to believe that he will prove to be an
effective champion of their interests as a vigilant regulator of the nation's
financial markets. The challenges ahead remain daunting, but Mr. Donaldson is
steadily restoring the agency's credibility in the wake of its disastrous
stewardship by Harvey Pitt. The SEC. chairman passed his first big test by persuading William McDonough, the respected president of the New York Federal Reserve, to run the new accounting oversight board created by Congress last summer. He has also opened an important inquiry into trading practices at the New York Stock Exchange. The commission has issued rules to tighten corporate boards' oversight over financial audits. Mr. Donaldson should now see that more is done to shore up shareholder democracy. A reassuring sign that there is a new sheriff(治安官)on Wall Street came in the aftermath of the recently announced landmark settlement with 10 brokerage(经纪人业务)firms over their tainted stock research. The SEC. chairman sternly rebuked Philip Purcell, the chief executive of Morgan Stanley, for trying to minimize the extent of his firm's involvement in the scandals. Mr. Donaldson, a former Wall Street banker himself, wrote a letter to Mr. Purcell describing concern over his "troubling lack of contrition" , and reminding him that Morgan could face further legal problems if it denied the settled charges. Besides being unusual, Mr. Donaldson's move was a powerful use of his office's bully pulpit (讲坛). With all the talk about whether the SEC. has enough material resources to pursue corporate malfeasance—the agency's budget is being increased significantly—it was easy in the Harvey Pitt era to forget that a strong SEC chairman can wield a great deal of moral authority. This is especially true given financial institutions absolute need to retain public trust. Mr. Donaldson should be ready to use his bully pulpit often. Wall Street is awash in a "troubling lack of contrition" for its past misdeeds. |