SEC chairman says no timing link between Goldman fraud suit and overhaul legislation

Goldman charges not linked to bill: SEC boss



WASHINGTON — The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission says there was no connection between the timing of the agency’s fraud charges against Goldman Sachs and efforts in the Senate to speed passage of sweeping legislation overhauling financial regulation.



SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro was speaking Wednesday to a Senate panel weighing the agency’s budget request. Some Republicans have accused the SEC of timing the April 16 announcement of civil fraud charges against Goldman to bolster prospects for the legislation, now at a critical stage in the Senate.



Schapiro, asked if there was a connection, said “absolutely not. We don’t time our enforcement actions by the legislative calendar.”