Atkins sworn in as SEC chairman

Paul Atkins was sworn in Tuesday as the new chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission; he is expected to bring a more deregulatory and crypto friendly approach to the SEC.

Atkins was previously a member of the commission from 2002 to 2008, when he was appointed by then-President George W. Bush. He was named by President-elect Donald Trump last December as the next SEC chair, prompting the departure of then-chairman Gary Gensler on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. In between, commissioner Mark Uyeda was acting chair.

Uyeda, a Republican member of the SEC, has already been slowing down rulemaking. He withdrew accounting guidance on crypto assets, stopped defending a controversial climate disclosure rule, and set up a crypto task force led by another Republican commissioner, Hester Peirce.

The Senate confirmed Atkins’ nomination on April 9.

“I am honored by the trust and confidence President Trump and the Senate have placed in me to lead the SEC,” Atkins said in a statement. “As I return to the SEC, I am pleased to join with my fellow commissioners and the agency’s dedicated professionals to advance its mission to facilitate capital formation; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and protect investors. Together we will work to ensure that the U.S. is the best and most secure place in the world to invest and do business.” 

Atkins was most recently chief executive of Patomak Global Partners, a company he founded in 2009, where he spearheaded efforts to develop best practices for the digital asset sector. He also served as an independent director and non-executive chairman of the board of global stock exchange operator BATS Global Markets Inc. from 2012 to 2015.

During his previous tenure as an SEC commissioner, he pushed for transparency, consistency, and the use of cost-benefit analysis at the agency. He also represented the SEC at meetings of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets and the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Economic Council. From 2009 to 2010, he was appointed a member of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program in the wake of the financial crisis.

Before his time as an SEC commissioner, Atkins was a consultant on securities and investment management industry matters, especially regarding issues of strategy, regulatory compliance, risk management, new product development, and organizational control. From 1990 to 1994, he served on the staff of two chairmen of the SEC, Richard Breeden and Arthur Levitt, ultimately as chief of staff and counselor, respectively.

He started his career as a lawyer in New York, focusing on a variety of corporate transactions for U.S. and foreign clients, including public and private securities offerings and mergers and acquisitions. He worked for two and half  years in his firm’s Paris office.

Originally from Lillington, North Carolina, he grew up in Tampa, Florida. He and his wife Sarah have three sons.

The Center for Audit Quality congratulated Atkins on Tuesday, saying his deep experience with the SEC and long-standing commitment to investor protection would position him well to lead the commission at a time of rapid change in the capital markets and corporate reporting. The CAQ said it shares his “belief in the critical role that independent assurance plays in fostering trust in our financial system.” 

“Strong capital markets depend on strong investor confidence — and investor confidence depends on the credibility of the information they rely on,” said CAQ CEO Julie Bell Lindsay in a statement. “We welcome Chair Atkins’ leadership and look forward to working together to advance thoughtful, forward-looking policymaking that recognizes the vital role of assurance in protecting investors and reinforcing the integrity of our markets.” 

Atkins was asked during his confirmation hearing whether he would support the elimination of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board; he said it would be up to Congress, but he was listed as a contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which called for eliminating the PCAOB and rolling back SEC regulations, and he has been critical of the PCAOB while he was a commissioner. The PCAOB was mandated by Congress as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.