[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

The short list of candidates to succeed Mary Schapiro as SEC Chairman is shrinking, after senior Treasury Department official Mary John Miller, one of the front-runners, withdraw her name from consideration.

With Ms. Miller gone, Wall Street executive Sallie Krawcheck may receive greater consideration.  Like many other candidates under consideration - each with backgrounds in finance and government - Ms. Krawcheck has remained in the mainstream since departing from Bank of America, where she headed the Global Wealth & Investment Management division - which includes Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust.  Ms. Krawcheck has met with lawmakers to discuss consumer issues.

 [See our recent BTN story, "SEC Commissioner Designate Ponders Next Move"].

Elisse Walter's Status.   President Barack Obama named SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter to succeed outgoing SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, who will step down on 12/14/12.  Ms. Walter, a Democrat who has served as SEC commissioner since 2008, and is a long-time colleague of Mary Schapiro, also is on the short-list of candidates. 

Yet, while she could continue to serve as SEC Chairman until December 2013, without requiring Senate confirmation, Ms. Walter has told agency officials that she plans to serve for only a short time.

More About Sallie Krawcheck.   Viewed as a solid choice, Ms. Krawcheck, 48, is a Wall Street veteran who's known for being an independent thinker and a consumer advocate.  Perhaps to enhance her public profile, Ms.Krawcheck has recently: 

• hired an aide to help her navigate the political arena, according to anonymous sources;

• met with Senate Banking Committee leaders in Washington last week, (that committee oversees the SEC);

• raised her profile as a consumer advocate through her postings on Twitter, which deal with investment issues; 

• she joined the board of Motif Investing, an online brokerage firm geared toward individual investors;  and,

• on LinkedIn, Ms.Krawcheck recently posted a blog entitled, "What I Learned When I Got Fired (The First Time)."

Two other names that have been mentioned as a possible succesor to Mary Schapiro are:  Robert Khuzami, SEC's enforcement director, and Richard 'Rick' Ketchum, currently Chairman and CEO of FINRA.

For further details, go to [Dealbook, 11/28/12].