Earlier this week, Mary Schapiro officially announced her impending resignation as SEC chairman. Shortly thereafter, president Obama designated current commissioner Elisse B. Walter to head up the agency.

Then the real fun began.

Walter, who can serve without being confirmed by the Senate until the end of next year, says she doesn't want to be the chairman for a long period of time. This being Washington, that means we can expect plenty of whispers about potential nominees, leaked details about behind-the-scenes meetings, and, of course, plenty of desperate job lobbying.

The Dealbook section of the New York Times published an article today detailing the current state of the race.

The hot news is that Mary Miller, currently a senior Treasury official, has removed herself from consideration. Reporters Ben Protess and Susanne Craig write that Miller simply wasn't interested in taking on the role of top market cop.

That leaves us with a familiar list of names, the article continues. The current list boils down to the following:

-- Sallie Krawcheck, a former Wall Street exec,
-- Robert Khumazi, the SEC's enforcement director, and
-- Richard Ketchum, chairman and chief exec at FINRA

Reuters also had a brief article noting that Miller had pulled out of the race.

More interestingly, Reuters also has a lengthy story about what exactly advisers want from from the new chief.

Essentially, the story surmises that the choice boils down to whether Obama chooses to appoint a longtime regulator or an industry insider.

"It would really help to have someone who has worked in the industry," said Robert Kurucza, a lawyer at Goodwin Procter LLP in Washington, to reporters Suzanne Barlyn and Jessica Toonkel. Kurucza also used to work at the SEC. 

Edited by: Ben Geier


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