Elisse B. Walter
Encyclopedia
Elisse B. Walter was appointed by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and was sworn in on July 9, 2008. Under designation by President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

, she served as Acting Chairman during January 2009. Her term ends June 5, 2012.

Education

Walter attended Pembroke College at Brown University
Pembroke College (Brown University)
Pembroke College in Brown University was the coordinate women's college for Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1891 and closed in 1971.-Founding and early history:...

 in 1967 and graduated from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 with a B.A., cum laude, in applied mathematics and received her J.D. degree, cum laude, from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

.

Career

Walter holds a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 seat, succeeding Annette Nazareth
Annette Nazareth
Annette LaPorte Nazareth is an American attorney who served as a Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from August 4, 2005 to January 31, 2008. She is currently a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell working on complex regulatory matters and transactions in the firm's Washington,...

, who left the commission in January 2008 to work in private practice. Walter was recommended for the commissioner position by Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) in 2007, along with fellow commissioner Luis A. Aguilar
Luis A. Aguilar
Luis A. Aguilar is a Democratic commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He was appointed by President George W. Bush on March 31, 2008 and confirmed by the United States Senate on June 27, 2008. He was sworn in as a Commissioner on July 31, 2008.-Background:Prior to his...

. Her term on the commission ends June 5, 2012.

Prior to her appointment as an SEC Commissioner, Ms. Walter served as Senior Executive Vice President, Regulatory Policy & Programs, for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
In the United States, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, is a private corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization . FINRA is the successor to the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. ...

 (FINRA). She held the same position at National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) before its 2007 consolidation with NYSE Member Regulation.

Ms. Walter coordinated policy issues across FINRA and oversaw a number of departments including Investment Company Regulation, Member Education and Training, Investor Education and Emerging Regulatory Issues. She also served on the Board of Directors of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.

Prior to joining NASD, Ms. Walter served as the General Counsel of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates futures and option markets....

. Before joining the CFTC in 1994, Ms. Walter was the Deputy Director of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission. She served on the SEC's staff beginning in 1977, both in that Division and in the Office of the General Counsel. Before joining the SEC, Ms. Walter was an attorney with a private law firm.

Ms. Walter served on the Board of Trustees of Jewish Women International and the SEC Historical Society and is a member of the Academy of Women Achievers of the YWCA of the City of New York, according to her official biographies.

Issues

In August 2008 at an opening meeting of the SEC, Walter expressed her support for the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards
International Financial Reporting Standards
International Financial Reporting Standards are principles-based standards, interpretations and the framework adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board ....

 for U.S. companies, but cautioned that a ruling from the SEC was far from finalized. "Most important, we have to keep in mind that no one knows for certain what the future will hold," she said. "I strongly believe that we have to prepare for the alternative that the Commission will determine not to adopt, or permit the use of, IFRS for U.S. issuers.…there are significant hurdles to overcome over the next three years in order for the Commission to determine to accept IFRS reporting from U.S. issuers." Cited in Who Runs Gov.

Another specific issue addressed by Ms. Walter before a Congressional
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 subcommittee in May, 2006, was NASD's regulatory activities regarding inappropriate sales of certain investment products to members of the armed forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

 and NASD's financial education programs focused on military service members and their families. Of particular concern was a broker-dealer, First Command Financial Planning, Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...

, which had been making inappropriate sales of products and services, including the sale of an investment product called Periodic Payment Plans or PPPs. First Command had targeted and sold more than a half-million of complicated and often extremely expensive PPPs to servicepersons. After investigation and censure, the firm was fined $12 million in December 2004. That amount included restitution, and funding for NASD Investor Education Foundation. As of 2006, First Command informed NASD that it has ceased selling PPPs.

Personal

Walter is married to Ronald Alan Stern. They have two children, Jonathan Leo Walter Stern and Evan Michael Walter Stern. Walter has a sister, Abra Joy Walter, and a brother, Alan Neil Walter.

Publications

  • EB Walter, ‘Regulating Broker–Dealers and Investment Advisers: Demarcation or Harmonization?’ (2009) 35(1) Journal of Corporation Law 1
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