The full Senate has voted to approve the nomination of William H. Donaldson as the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Donaldson, 71, is a former investment banker, former chairmen of the New York Stock Exchange, and former chairman and CEO of Aetna.

Mr. Donaldson's nomination was presented to the full Senate after he was selected by the Senate Banking Committee last week. Mr. Donaldson has promised to aggressively enforce corporate anti-fraud rules. He has also indicated that his immediate priority is selecting a new chairman for the new Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

The North American Securities Administrators Association released a statement after Mr. Donaldson's appointment was confirmed. "Without question, he faces one of the most challenging jobs in Washington – rebuilding morale at the agency, hiring new staff to keep up with the SEC's expanding workload, and communicating with investors, many of whom are wary and cynical."