SEC Weighs Curbing Investigators’ Powers to Probe Wall Street

By Ben Bain and Matt Robinson, Bloomberg News

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s interim chief has quietly initiated a review that could make it harder for government lawyers to open investigations into corporate wrongdoing, said three people with knowledge of the matter.

Michael Piwowar, the Republican serving as the agency’s acting chairman, has requested an examination of what’s known internally as delegated authority, the people said. It gives senior attorneys across the SEC powers to start probes, inspect firms and sign-off on some financial products without seeking approval from Piwowar and the other politically-appointed commissioners who oversee the regulator.

Piwowar, ...