On Tuesday, The Senate Banking Committee approved the nomination of William H. Donaldson as the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The vote now goes to the complete Senate. It is expected that the vote before the complete Senate will take place yet this week.

The SEC has been in need of a new chairman since last November when former chairman Harvey Pitt announced plans to resign amidst controversy over his handling of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and his appointment of William Webster, former head of the FBI, to chair the PCAOB.

If confirmed, Mr. Donaldson has indicated his first priority will be to find a new chief for the PCAOB. He has also stated he will aggressively enforce corporate antitrust rules.

"He'll face a daunting task as the new chairman of the SEC," said Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee and co-author of last year's groundbreaking Sarbanes-Oxley law. "He must address the challenge of restoring confidence to the capital markets."

Mr. Donaldson, 71, is a former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.