Ex-CFTC chief Gensler advising Biden on financial regulators

Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman Gary Gensler and former KeyBank executive Don Graves have been tapped to examine financial regulators as part of Joe Biden’s presidential transition, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Gensler’s presence is likely to please progressive Democrats, as he gained a reputation for standing up to Wall Street during the Obama administration. He also implemented a new regulatory regime for swaps -- products that played a key role in the 2008 financial crisis.

Gensler is a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner, giving him insight into how the industry works and how it tries to dodge oversight.

Gensler is close to Biden transition co-chair Ted Kaufman, as the two worked together to push for tougher Wall Street rules during Kaufman’s two years as a Delaware senator, and to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Gensler didn’t immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

Graves, who served as executive vice president and head of corporate responsibility and community relations at KeyBank until a couple of months ago, is a longtime Biden adviser. His involvement in reviewing bank regulators might give comfort to banks that moderates will win posts in a Biden administration.

It’s a routine aspect of presidential transitions that teams of volunteers examine the swaths of agencies that populate the federal government. Often, those involved in such reviews end up making recommendations on who should be nominated to run regulators.