By Cydney Posner

Elizabeth "Betsy" Murphy has been appointed the new Secretary of the SEC, so be sure to address your CTR requests to her in the future.

Also, just FYI, an interesting press release issued today by SEC Chairman Cox regarding the $50B Madoff scandal. Cox, obviously relieved that the origins of at least one debacle clearly predate his tenure, finally has his opportunity to get publicly incensed: "the Commission has met multiple times on an emergency basis to seek answers to the question of how Mr. Madoff's vast scheme remained undetected by regulators and law enforcement for so long. Our initial findings have been deeply troubling. The Commission has learned that credible and specific allegations regarding Mr. Madoff’s financial wrongdoing, going back to at least 1999, were repeatedly brought to the attention of SEC staff, but were never recommended to the Commission for action. I am gravely concerned by the apparent multiple failures over at least a decade to thoroughly investigate these allegations or at any point to seek formal authority to pursue them. Moreover, a consequence of the failure to seek a formal order of investigation from the Commission is that subpoena power was not used to obtain information, but rather the staff relied upon information voluntarily produced by Mr. Madoff and his firm. In response, after consultation with the Commission, I have directed a full and immediate review of the past allegations regarding Mr. Madoff and his firm and the reasons they were not found credible, to be led by the SEC's Inspector General."

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