Senate confirms new SEC commissioners

Two new commissioners are set to join the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), following their confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

In a voice vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed appointments that were proposed back in April, endorsing Jaime Lizárraga and Mark Toshiro Uyeda to join the commission.

Lizárraga will replace outgoing commissioner, Allison Herren Lee, for a term expiring June 5, 2027; whereas Uyeda will fill the remainder of commissioner Elad Roisman’s term, expiring June 5, 2023.

Lizárraga is currently a senior advisor to House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, overseeing issues relating to financial markets, housing, international financial institutions, immigration, and small business policy.

Uyeda is an attorney with the SEC, but is currently detailed as securities counsel to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

In a joint statement, the existing commissioners — Lee, Hester Peirce, Caroline Crenshaw, and SEC chair Gary Gensler — congratulated Lizárraga and Uyeda on their Senate confirmations.

“We look forward to their many contributions to the agency and our work on behalf of the American public,” they said.

The president of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), Melanie Senter Lubin, also welcomed the appointments.

“On behalf of state and provincial securities regulators, I congratulate Mark Uyeda and Jaime Lizárraga on their confirmations to serve on the SEC,” she said in a statement.

“We look forward to working with commissioner Uyeda, commissioner Lizárraga, their fellow commissioners, and chair Gensler on our shared goals of protecting investors and ensuring the integrity of the securities markets,” she added.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.