SEC Nominee Has Friends on Wall Street

Christopher Cox, the conservative California congressman whom President Bush wants to serve as the nation's top securities regulator, has gotten his fair share of campaign cash from the financial services sector.

Campaign contributions from accounting firms, banks, insurers and brokerages account for roughly 14% of the $6 million raised by Cox since 1989, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group.

The proportion is not undue for a politician at the federal level. In the 2004 presidential and congressional campaign, donations from the financial services industry accounted for roughly 11% of the $2 billion raised by all candidates.

Last week, Bush nominated Cox to succeed William Donaldson as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Senate Banking Committee is expected to consider Cox's nomination in a few weeks.

In all, the financial services industry has contributed more than $865,000 to the 16-year Orange County congressman, who hasn't faced a tough re-election challenge in years.

Cox has raised more money from financial services firms than any other industry group. Historically, Wall Street and the financial services industry are big contributors to both Republican and Democratic politicians.

Within the financial services sector, Cox took in $258,000 from securities firms, $209,000 from accounting firms, $184,000 from insurance firms and $105,100 from commercial banks.

The single biggest corporate contributor to Cox's campaign war chest is Latham & Watkins, the Los Angeles-based law firm that he worked for before being elected to Congress. The firm has contributed $124,594.

Other big contributors include the National Association of Realtors, the American Bankers Association, the National Venture Capital Association, United Parcel Service and Fluor.

Investor advocates have voiced concern that Cox, the chief backer of a federal law that made it harder for investors to file securities fraud lawsuits against corporations, will take a less aggressive approach than outgoing SEC Chairman William Donaldson.