Post-Spitzer, a New Breed of Reformer

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No one is dusting off those valiant titles once bestowed on Eliot Spitzer, honorifics like “The Enforcer” and “Sheriff of Wall Street.” But slowly, even a bit gently, Mr. Spitzer’s successor as the attorney general of New York, Andrew M. Cuomo, is shaking up the financial industry.

Since taking the job last year, Mr. Cuomo has extracted settlements from credit ratings firms and student lenders and trained his sights on banks that played a crucial role in the mortgage crisis. Mr. Cuomo said he is more interested in reforming industries and how they do business than in punishing individuals and firms.

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Still, Mr. Cuomo has angered people on Wall Street and in Washington. Advocates for investors say he is too quick to accept deals that do not include significant reforms, while federal officials accuse him of encroaching on their turf.

Mr. Cuomo appeared to score a big coup earlier this month when his office reached an agreement with the three biggest credit rating firms, which many investors and regulators blame for aiding investment banks by awarding risky mortgage securities high ratings.

NY Times