(Bloomberg) -- Don't try to pull a fast one on the way out.
That's the message the incoming and outgoing Republican chairs of the Senate Banking Committee are sending to Mary Jo White, who plans to step down as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission in January. Senators Richard Shelby and Mike Crapo sent a letter dated Nov. 30 to White, urging her to freeze any unfinished rules related to the Dodd-Frank Act until president-elect Donald Trump takes office next year, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Bloomberg News.
“We ask that you delay further action until after the new president is sworn in," Shelby and Crapo said. “The new administration and Congress must have an opportunity to examine each agency's regulatory agenda and its effect on the economy before additional rules are promulgated or finalized."
A spokesman for Crapo declined to comment on the letter, while a spokeswoman for Shelby didn't respond to requests for comment. Gina Talamona, a spokeswoman for White, declined to comment.
Derivatives, Pay
Trump has been critical of Dodd-Frank and said he would issue a temporary moratorium on new U.S. regulations. That puts pressure on banking agencies to complete any remaining rules called for following the financial crisis before the end of President Barack Obama's administration. The SEC has been trying to finalize measures related to how mutual funds monitor and manage derivatives, and regulations related to security-based swaps. The SEC is also working with other agencies to complete sweeping limits on Wall Street pay.
While Trump hasn't offered many details about his financial policy goals, economic advisers including his nominee for Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, have reiterated his campaign pledge to make changes to Dodd-Frank. Mnuchin, a former banker at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday that stripping back parts of Dodd-Frank will be the "No. 1 priority on the regulatory side."
Crapo, from Idaho, is poised to take over in January as chair of the Senate Banking Committee after Shelby's term ends. The senators' letter, which was copied to SEC Commissioners Kara Stein and Michael Piwowar, echoes concerns Republicans in the House of Representative have raised.
House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling has urged White not to finalize additional regulations “in deference” to the incoming administration's priorities. At a Nov. 15 hearing before the House panel, White said that while she plans to continue to pursue the agenda that she'd laid out for the year, she didn't foresee “any last minute rushes.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Elizabeth Dexheimer in Washington at edexheimer@bloomberg.net, Ben Bain in Washintgon at bbain2@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jesse Westbrook at jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net, Alexis Leondis
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