Quite frankly, the enfeebled state of the U.S. economy is really not all that surprising given how fast the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington DC is spinning these days. After Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Tim Geither, Mary Schapiro and dozens of others, the question today is not who is exiting/entering through the revolving door, it’s who has not taken advantage of the private sector gravy train.
Of interest, the London Stock Exchange Group announced on Thursday, June 11th that Mary Schapiro, the ex-chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, was joining its board.
Schapiro who served as chair of the SEC in a difficult period from 2009 to 2012, is set to become a nonexecutive director of the LSE Group on July 1st of this year.
Statement from LSE chairman
“Mary’s extensive knowledge of the U.S. financial and regulatory landscape, her broad global markets experience, and her understanding of complex financial infrastructure will be of great value to the group as we continue to grow our global footprint,” Chris Gibson-Smith, chairman of the London Stock Exchange, said in a statement published on Thursday morning.
More on Mary Schapiro
On an historical note, Mary Schapiro was the first woman to serve as the SEC’s permanent chair, and has also served as the head of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority as well as chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Financial sector analysts note that the appointment of Mary Schapiro to the stock exchange and index operator’s BoD coincides with the firm looking to make a major push into the U.S.
Also of interest, the London Stock Exchange purchased Russell Investments, the owner of the Russell 2000-stock market index, for $2.7 billion last year. In February of this year, as expected, LSE announced the investment management arm of Russell Investments was for sale in a move that will allow the firm focus on diversifying its rapidly growing index business.
