Jay Clayton, who has led the Securities and Exchange Commission for the past three and a half years that included a number of major changes in financial markets, said Monday he will step down at the end of the year.
“Working alongside the incredibly talented and driven women and men of the SEC has been the highlight of my career,” Clayton said in a statement. His term would have expired in June 2021.
His tenure ends following a period in which the SEC extracted some $14 billion in various fines and agreements with violators of regulatory standards. That included $4.68 billion in fiscal 2020, a new record.
With markets getting increasingly complex and automated, the SEC has been looked to stand as a referee and prevent some of the glitches that became commonplace earlier in the decade.
“The U.S. capital markets ecosystem is the strongest and most nimble in the world, and thanks to the hard work of the diverse and inclusive SEC team, we have improved investor protections, promoted capital formation for small and larger businesses, and enabled our markets to function more transparently and efficiently,” Clayton said.
President Donald Trump named Clayton to head the SEC and has since nominated him to serve as U.S. attorney in New York.
SEC chairs traditionally step down when an administration ends, and Clayton’s resignation comes two months before Joe Biden will take over as president.
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