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Gary Gensler plans to step down as chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission on January 20, when Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as president.
Officially, Gensler’s five-year term on the commission does not run out until 2026, but it has become customary for SEC chairs to move on when the presidency changes hands.
Under Gensler, the SEC pushed through new rules seeking to bring more transparency to the markets and improve corporate disclosures but also suffered legal defeats as courts ruled the regulator had exceeded its authority.
His announcement came hours after a federal court in Texas tossed out the SEC’s new rules for the $27tn Treasury market, finding that the watchdog exceeded its authority when it tried to force more large traders to register as “dealers”.
This is a developing story.