More Shade: How The SEC and Wall St Get Along

This behavior happens in almost every industry….

“(Reuters) – At least 219 former officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission have left since 2006 to help clients with business before the agency, bringing fresh allegations of a “revolving door” that leaves the commission too cozy with the Wall Street firms it regulates.

According to a report to be released on Friday, between 2006 and 2010 there were 219 former SEC employees who filed letters with the agency indicating their intent to represent a client with business before the commission.

In all, those former officials advised firms on SEC business nearly 800 times, according to an advance copy of the report seen by Reuters.

The study by the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight, which analyzed post-employment statements provided by the SEC after a Freedom of Information Act request, says the former officials joined a total of 131 firms to provide legal, lobbying, accounting and other advice to clients being investigated or regulated by the SEC.

Republican Senator Charles Grassley, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, said of the report: “The SEC’s revolving door seems to be more active than ever.”

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