Kathleen Griffin Named CCO at SEC

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has named Kathleen Griffin the regulator’s first-ever chief compliance officer (CCO). Griffin was formerly senior compliance manager and deputy code of ethics officer at global money management firm Putnam Investments.

Griffin’s appointment, which falls within the SEC’s Office of Ethics Council, will combine two offices that will now monitor employee securities transactions and financial disclosure reporting. “We have established a system of real-time financial reporting and we are fortunate to have a proven compliance professional like Kathleen on board to greatly strengthen our program,” says William Lenox, the SEC’s ethics counsel, in a statement. “Kathleen will help assure that the hardworking SEC staff continues to adhere to the highest ethical standards.”

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, many in the industry are skeptical of the new position. The article quotes industry insiders as saying that Griffin will not be “empowered to conduct the type of oversight that is typically required of someone with that title.”

The problem is that she will not report directly to SEC chair Mary Schapiro, though the SEC says that there is an open-door policy for Griffin to Schapiro. According to those quoted in the article, Griffin’s powers will be limited, compared to the financial institutions’ CCOs that the SEC regulates.