Mary Schapiro, Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, told senators today she would make enforcement a top priority, CNN reports. Her confirmation hearing was also peppered with questions about how Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme slipped past regulators; Schapiro currently heads an industry watchdog group. “I am under no illusion that this will be an easy job,” she said.
“Some misconduct can be hidden from some of the regulators some of the time,” Schapiro said in reference to the Madoff scandal. “Financial regulators frankly need to cooperate a lot more closely than we have historically.” Schapiro said the SEC did not share any information about Madoff with her organization. (More Mary Schapiro stories.)