SEC Chairman Nominee Has Large Holdings [Forbes]

[Antunes]

"Update 2: SEC Chairman Nominee Has Large Holdings
07.12.2005, 07:37 PM

President Bush's choice to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rep. Christopher Cox, has hundreds of thousands of dollars in money-market and mutual funds and large holdings in stocks, his financial report shows.

Bush last month selected Cox, a California Republican, to head the SEC after the resignation of William Donaldson, whom Bush had installed to help restore confidence in a stock market shaken by corporate scandals.

In his financial disclosure report prepared for his Senate confirmation hearing, which became available Tuesday, Cox lists total holdings of between $565,004 and $1.15 million in stock of Coca-Cola Co., Newmont Mining Corp., Continental Airlines Inc. and Gold Fields Ltd. of South Africa.

His wife, Rebecca, is a lobbyist for Continental, the fifth-largest U.S. carrier. The airline's chief executive officer told shareholders at the annual meeting last month that their relationship isn't expected to present any conflicts of interest with Cox as SEC chairman.

Cox's report indicates that he does not intend to set up a blind trust for his assets, apparently following advice from the SEC's ethics office that he is not required under ethics rules to do so.

Cox spokesman James Freeman had no immediate comment. Members of the SEC ethics office staff referred calls to agency spokesman John Heine, who declined to comment.

The exact value of Cox's assets could not be determined from the financial forms because they only require values to be provided in ranges.

Cox would earn $142,500 a year as chairman of the market watchdog agency if confirmed by the Senate as expected, compared with his congressional salary of $162,100. He is the first member of Congress to be nominated to head the 70-year-old SEC. Many of the previous chairmen came from Wall Street, as did Donaldson, or were securities lawyers.

Cox, 52, now chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has been in Congress for 16 years. A graduate of both Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, he was a securities attorney before becoming a lawmaker. In the House, Cox wrote legislation that made it easier for companies to defend against some types of lawsuits by shareholders.

Business interests, which had chafed at Donaldson's activist regulatory stance, welcomed Cox's selection by Bush. Investor advocates expressed concern.

Cox's largest financial backers during his congressional tenure include law firms and big accounting firms. Securities and investment firms have donated more than $254,000 to Cox, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. 
SEC Nominee Cox Details Stock Holdings
Chris Noon, 07.13.05, 7:22 AM ET

NEW YORK - Doers and doings in business, entertainment and technology:

Christopher Cox, who last month was handpicked by President George W. Bush to head up the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is not short of a buck or two himself. According to a financial disclosure report drawn up for his Senate confirmation hearing, Cox has between $565,004 and $1.15 million in stock of Coca-Cola (nyse: KO - news - people ), Newmont Mining (nyse: NEM - news - people ), Continental Airlines (nyse: CAL - news - people ) and Gold Fields (nyse: GFI - news - people ). An apology to all the sticklers for accuracy out there; an exact value of Cox's assets could not be determined from the financial forms since they only require values to be provided in ranges. Cox, a California Republican congressman, was Bush's choice to boss the SEC after William Donaldson quit. The U.S. president had originally introduced Donaldson to re-establish confidence in a stock market pooped by corporate malfeasance. By the by, Cox's wife, Rebecca, is a lobbyist for the fifth largest U.S. carrier, Continental: That airline's chief executive, Lawrence Kellner, recently told shareholders he isn't expecting any conflicts of interest with Cox as SEC chairman. Cox apparently has no plans to establish a blind trust for his assets--he was reportedly advised by the SEC's ethics office that he's not required under ethics rules to do so. Cox, the first member of U.S. Congress to be nominated to head the SEC, will net $142,500 in his new role if and when he's confirmed by the Senate, something of a pay slash from his congressional salary of $162,100. More..."


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