HERE’S WHAT EXECUTIVES AND OTHER BUSINESSPEOPLE ARE THINKING BUT not necessarily saying about Christopher Cox’s nomination to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cox stands to usher in a transition at the commission, away from the tough regulation of the Enron era to a less confrontational relationship with Corporate America.
No doubt, Cox will enforce Sarbanes-Oxley and other stiff rules resulting from the corporate wrongdoing of the past few years.
But the overriding tone of Cox’s political career has been a promotion of free enterprise, not heavy-handed regulation. And that seems like the right approach as companies grapple with a minefield of Enron-inspired rules and procedures.
Still, we suspect Cox will surprise some people should he be, as expected, confirmed as Wall Street’s top cop. Cox has the demeanor and breeding of a Wall Street banker, but his sympathies have been with the Main Street businessman and tech entrepreneur. Big corporations are likely to find him less pliant or gullible than the typical Republican, or many Democrat, politicians.
Cox won’t favor measures that make it easier for trial lawyers to ply their trade, but he is likely to support the sort of public accountability that helps to inform and protect investors.
In fact, this could be a breakthrough for Cox, a cautious sort whose pattern as a congressional leader has been to achieve bipartisan consensus for incremental gains. No longer needing a couple of hundred lawmakers to go along with him, Cox could use his administrative powers in creative and productive ways.
There will be critics. Some (think Barbara Boxer) will say he could be too soft on public companies. But the chances of nomination being derailed are slim. As one observer put it, Cox is “user-friendly.”
,Michael Lyster, Rick Reiff
