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Eliot Spitzer made his reputation as the so-called Sheriff of Wall Street. So it’s more than a bit surprising that the governor now wants to streamline and somewhat rein in the financial world’s cops. Yesterday, he created the Commission to Modernize the Regulation of Financial Services — or, put another way, a commission to change the same regulations he imposed, as A.G. Chuck Prince — the Citigroup CEO who inherited the scandal-plagued colossus from semi-disgraced Sandy Weill — will sit on the commission; so will Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein. What gives? Well, “excessive litigation” is one kink that needs ironing out, says the Times. A swarm of regulators with overlapping jurisdictions is another (the insurance, state, and banking departments as well as A.G.’s office all currently act as Wall Street watchdogs). But mostly, it’s this: The finance industry is the state’s biggest cash cow, and Eliot Spitzer is the state’s governor. And so the sheriff rides into the sunset.
