[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler is expected to stay in his current position through a second 5-year term, though he may be looking for another role in the administration.  While the White House in January invited Mr. Gensler to stay a 2nd term, speculation about the Wall Street regulator's interest in other roles have included deputy Treasury secretary, head of the Commerce Department and head of the SEC before Mary Jo White was nominated.

Prior to heading the CFTC, Mr. Gensler spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs where he rose to the company's co-head of finance.  He left to become the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for domestic finance during the last 2 years of the Bill Clinton administration.  When asked, he declined to discuss any other government posts he would pursue.

What we know for sure is he will not be rejoining Wall Street, instead favoring public service.  For now, it would appear Mr. Gensler's head is still at the CFTC – at least through December.  His work at the agency, he said, is not over:

"It’s an incredible privilege and there’s still a lot of work to be done here at the C.F.T.C."

[C-I Note: Indeed, Mr. Gensler would be a tough act to follow.  Under his leadership, the agency has completed 80% of the new rules for derivatives trading that it inherited under the Dodd-Frank Act, passed by Congress in the wake of the financial crisis.  The agency, which previously oversaw $40 trillion futures business, now regulates the $300 trillion derivatives market.  His hire, enforcement director David Meister, has sued some of the world’s biggest banks over manipulating interest rates, further extending Mr. Gensler's legacy and firmly making his agency a force to be reckoned with.]

For further details, go to [Dealbook, 3/5/13].