Mary Schapiro's Unfinished Business

When Mary Schapiro steps down as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission on Dec. 14, she’ll leave behind an agency riven by partisanship. It now falls to her successor, Elisse Walter, to carry out President Obama’s agenda over the resistance of Republican commissioners, skeptical conservative judges, and a well-financed financial industry lobby. “You need someone who’s pretty thick-skinned” to move the SEC forward, says Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America. “Schapiro’s been chairman under the most difficult conditions I’ve seen an SEC chair face in the 25 years I’ve been following these issues.”

Walter, 62, can lead the agency through 2013 without Senate approval, having already been confirmed as a commissioner in 2008. A cancer survivor, she’s sent mixed signals in recent months about her long-term plans. An administration official speaking on condition of anonymity says Obama intends to nominate another person to the commission soon. That person could become chairman. Possible nominees include former SEC commissioner Harvey Goldschmid and Sallie Krawcheck, a former Bank of America and Citigroup executive, people with knowledge of the matter say.