The former point man for the Obama administration’s auto industry bailout told regulators this week that he will not return to investment banking after serving a five-year ban over pay-for-play allegations involving a New York State pension fund.
Steven Rattner, who is also an MSNBC contributor, on April 8 withdrew his request for reinstatement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, DealBook reported on Wednesday.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the move came amid internal grumbling at the SEC over its decision to allow Rattner to once again trade securities after he was accused of paying New York state officials in return for a state pension fund’s investment in his private equity firm.
Rattner’s five-year ban was a condition of his 2010 settlement with the SEC. He neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
The SEC was reportedly planning to reverse a March decision that would have allowed him to once again work for a brokerage or investment adviser, though a Rattner spokesman denied that.
His SEC settlement came shortly after Rattner led Obama’s Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, which spearheaded the White House’s efforts to bail out Chrysler and General Motors in 2009.