By Michelle Price
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has hired a former Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) executive to serve as senior policy advisor to the regulator's chairman.
Alan Cohen, who was most recently a senior advisor to Goldman's executive office after serving as the head of compliance since 2004, will advise SEC Chairman Jay Clayton on the impact of Britain's exit from the European Union and new European rules that will overhaul banks' research businesses, among other emerging risks, the SEC said Thursday evening.
Cohen is the latest Goldman executive to move into the public sector under President Donald Trump's business-focused administration, which has pledged to reduce the regulatory burden on Wall Street.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was a former partner at the New York investment bank, while National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn was president at the bank before joining the White House.
The SEC, which like other regulatory agencies is in the process of staffing up under the new administration, announced a raft of other appointments to Clayton's executive staff on Thursday, including the promotion of staffers John Cook, Jeffrey Dinwoodie and Rachel Fox into senior advisory roles.
Reuters also reported on Thursday that Trump is expected to nominate Columbia University law professor Robert Jackson to be a member of the SEC, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.
Jackson is expected to be formally nominated on Friday, filling a vacant spot reserved for a Democrat on the five-member panel.