Former Goldman Executive Rominger Stepping Down as SEC Unit Head

Eileen Rominger, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) executive who joined the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year, will step down next month as head of the agency’s investment management unit.

Rominger, 57, is retiring from the SEC in July after nearly 18 months heading the unit in charge of developing tougher rules for money market funds, according to a statement released by the agency today. SEC commissioners are divided on whether and how to further regulate money funds and have been unable to reach consensus on putting a proposal out for comment.

“Eileen understood the importance of a fair and efficient investment management industry to the well-being of investors everywhere,” SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said in the agency’s statement. “Her practical insights and steady leadership served investors well.”

Rominger, who previously served as global chief investment officer for Goldman Sachs Asset Management, joined the SEC in February 2011 as one of the wealthiest people to ever work at the agency. She reported $57.5 million in income from Goldman Sachs in a disclosure form covering 2010 and 2011.

Before she leaves the agency, Rominger is scheduled to deliver separate speeches this month in Washington to the Mutual Fund Directors Forum and the Insured Retirement Institute.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steven Sloan in Washington at ssloan7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Maura Reynolds at mreynolds34@bloomberg.net

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SEC's Eileen Rominger

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Eileen Rominger, seen here as director of the division of investment management with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (S..

Eileen Rominger, seen here as director of the division of investment management with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (S.. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg