Christy Goldsmith Romero

Christy Romero
Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Incumbent
Assumed office
March 30, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byHeath Tarbert
Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program
In office
April 1, 2011 – March 2022
Acting: April 1, 2011 – February 1, 2012
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byNeil Barofsky
Succeeded byMelissa Bruce (acting)
Personal details
EducationOld Dominion University (BS)
Brigham Young University, Utah (JD)

Christy Goldsmith Romero is an American lawyer and federal government official. She has served as a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) since 2022, having been nominated by President Joe Biden.

From 2011 to 2022, she served as the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a federal law enforcement agency and an independent audit watchdog that targets financial institution crime and other fraud, waste, and abuse related to the TARP bailout.

On June 10, 2024 The Wall Street Journal reported that she was expected to be named as the chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to replace the outgoing Martin Gruenberg.[1]

Early life

Christy Goldsmith Romero graduated from Old Dominion University, where she earned a bachelor of science in business.[2] She subsequently earned a JD from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.[2]

Career

Early career

Goldsmith Romero began her career as a clerk to Judge Robert Clive Jones.[2] She subsequently worked for the law firms Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Snell & Wilmer and Jenner & Block.[2] She investigated financial institution fraud, insider trading, and other violations of securities law as an attorney in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement from 2003 to 2007.[2] Goldsmith Romero also served as counsel to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, a Republican, and SEC Chair Mary Schapiro, an Independent.

Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (2011-2022)

Goldsmith Romero worked for the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program since 2009.[2][3] She served as the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program from April 9, 2012 to March 2022.[2]

In this capacity, she investigated financial institution crime related to the TARP bailout. Notable investigations by SIGTARP include Wilmington Trust, Sonoma Valley Bank, General Motors, United Commercial Bank, Morgan Stanley, Ally Financial, Bank of the Commonwealth, Jefferies, RBS, and SunTrust.[4]

In October 2016, Goldsmith Romero called on Congress to pass legislation which would require senior executives at the six largest Wall Street banks that took TARP bailout funds to sign an annual certification to law enforcement that they have conducted due diligence and can certify that there is no criminal conduct or civil fraud within their organization.[5][6] As a result of SIGTARP investigations, 430 defendants have been criminally charged. Nearly 300 defendants have been sentenced to prison, including 76 bankers and 85 of their co-conspirators. The bankers sentenced include many presidents, chief executive officers and other executives at medium and small bankers. SIGTARP investigations have also led to 24 enforcement actions against banks and other companies.[7] In comparison, she said, "we have faced significant difficulties proving criminal intent of senior officials in large organizations that are designed to insulate high level officials from knowing about crime or civil fraud."[8] And in October 2017, describing the threat of financial institution fraud as "so serious and harmful as to require constant law enforcement expertise with dedicated resources," she called for a permanent law enforcement office with a narrow mandate to investigate financial institution fraud.[9]

In May 2017, Goldsmith Romero expressed concern over President Trump's budget cuts, saying they would interfere with the agency's ability to "conduct ongoing and new criminal investigations."[10] In August 2017, she told the Financial Times, "Our nation cannot afford to take our eye off the ball when it comes to crime or other illegal practices inside banks that require law enforcement response."[11]

In this role, Goldsmith Romero testified before Congress on the auto bailout, executive pay, and the Hardest Hit Fund, among other issues.[12]

Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (2022-present)

In September 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Goldsmith Romero as a commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.[13] She was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 28, 2022,[14] and sworn in on March 30.[15]

Personal life

Goldsmith Romero is openly bisexual.[16] She is married to Adrianne, has three daughters and a step-son.[17]

References

  1. ^ Ackerman, Andrew; Restuccia, Andrew (10 June 2024). "White House Prepares to Tap Derivatives Regulator to Oversee FDIC". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "The Special Inspector General". Office of the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  3. ^ Finkle, Victoria (27 July 2016). "The Big Fish Seen Escaping an Agency Pursuing Bank Fraud". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "Investigations | Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program".
  5. ^ Merle, Renae (October 26, 2016). "This obscure government agency has a plan to put Wall Street CEOs in prison". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  6. ^ Levitz, Eric (October 26, 2016). "Federal Bureaucrats Unveil New Plan to Put Wall Street CEOs in Prison". New York Magazine. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  7. ^ "Welcome to SIGTARP | Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program".
  8. ^ "Proposal". www.sigtarp.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-07-31.
  9. ^ "The Special Inspector General". Office of the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  10. ^ Merle, Renae (May 23, 2017). "Trump's budget could make it harder to investigate banks that received taxpayer bailouts". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  11. ^ Scannell, Kara (August 6, 2017). "US haul from credit crisis bank fines hits $150bn". Financial Times. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  12. ^ "Christy Goldsmith Romero | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  13. ^ "President Biden Announces 10 Key Nominations". The White House. 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  14. ^ "PN1513 - Nomination of Christy Goldsmith Romero for Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. 28 March 2022.
  15. ^ "Chairman & Commissioners". Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  16. ^ "Biden Announces Out Nominees for Futures Commission, Commerce". www.advocate.com. 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  17. ^ "Statement by Christy Goldsmith Romero" (PDF). www.agriculture.senate.gov. 2024-07-11.