White should be able to reinstate the SEC's image as a tough regulator. As United States attorney in New York, she pursued mob boss John Gotti and terrorists. She reportedly refused to sign off on President Clinton's pardon of oil trader Mark Rich, and briefly investigated it. What's more, KBW's Brian Gardner, who heads up the firm's Washington research, says White in the past has taken a limited view of what crimes corporations could be charged with. Meaning White is less likely to allow large corporations to swallow the blame for misconduct that could only have been committed by individuals. "We expect the SEC's investigations to become more aggressive but, at the same time, more thorough," Gradner wrote in a note to clients.
But is that what we really need at the SEC right now?
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