Christopher Cox stepped down as the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday, after having been criticized for acting too slowly on the financial crisis and failing to protect investors.
Cox's resignation followed President Obama's inauguration, though it was not formally announced.
SEC spokesman John Nester confirmed Cox's departure but said the commission does not have a copy of his resignation letter, which was sent to Obama officials. An Obama spokeswoman could not be reached.
Cox previously said he intended to depart at the end of the Bush administration, though his term did not officially expire until June.
Mary Schapiro, the chief executive officer of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, has been tapped by Obama to head the SEC. At a confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee last week, she pledged to "reinvigorate" the SEC's enforcement division and ensure the commission adopts a "laser-like focus" on uncovering fraud and protecting investors.
Her nomination appears to be a lock, though it is not clear when the Senate would vote on it. Senate Democrats are working to reach an agreement so that Obama's nominees will be discharged from the Banking Committee and go straight to the full Senate for a vote, without the need for a committee vote.
In the meantime, Obama is expected to nominate as acting chairman either Elisse Walter or Luis Aguilar, the two Democrats on the commission. He also could choose Republican Kathleen Casey, the most senior commissioner. Sources said yesterday that presidents typically have announced an interim successor within the first business day after the departure of a chairman.
Cox leaves the agency after three and a half years at its helm. Last year he launched a series of initiatives to boost municipal disclosure and accounting standards, though most of them failed to gain traction among market participants or in Congress, with the exception of a central repository for issuers' muni disclosures.
