Senate Approves 3 Nominees to SEC

The Senate confirmed two Democrats and one Republican to the five-member Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday.

Democrats Elisse Walter and Luis Aguilar and Republican Troy Paredes were approved by unanimous consent.

The SEC, Wall Street's top regulator, has lacked Democratic commissioners since January. Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) said last month he was concerned that the agency had gotten "mighty lean" at a time when losses on securities backed by subprime mortgages had eroded investor confidence.

Walter, 58, is a senior executive vice president at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which polices more than 5,000 U.S. brokerages. Aguilar, 54, is a partner in the law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge in Atlanta.

Paredes, 37, is a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis. He replaces SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins, a Republican, who last month announced plans to leave the agency once his successor takes office.

The president nominates candidates for the SEC. Typically, three of its commissioners are members of the president's political party.