SEC Criticized For Failures

The Securities and Exchange Commission has been criticized for not doing anything to prevent the financial crisis from developing,or seriously looking into the Ponzi scheme of Bernard Madoff that has ruined several investors.Ms.Schapiro says that, clearly,our regulatory system failed to compensate for the failures of market discipline.It failed to appreciate the interdependencies of financial institutions and the risks they shared.It did not allow regulators to stay ahead of this crisis and prevent it from ever occurring.Mary L. Schapiro is 53.Most observers have expressed confidence in her ability to head the SEC,which will be reformed over the next few years in consequence of its recent failures.