Angelides to lead panel

California's former treasurer - and unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate - will head a new commission to examine the causes of the financial crisis. Vice chairman will be Bill Thomas, the former Republican representative from California. The commission was created by Congress to investigate the roots of the crisis, kind of like the body that looked into 9/11. From the NYT:

The lawmakers gave the commission a broad mandate, as well as subpoena power, to look at issues ranging from the role of exotic financial instruments and credit rating agencies to excessive compensation and the failure of regulators to reduce the risky lending practices of banks.

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They also said they hoped the Angelides commission would play a role similar to the one played by the Pecora Commission in the 1930s. The work of that commission, named for Ferdinand Pecora, the investigative counsel for a Senate committee during the Great Depression, contributed to the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and provisions in the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated investment and commercial banks.

These days, Phil Angelides is a principal of Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and chairman of the Canyon Johnson Urban Communities Fund, a partnership of Canyon and Magic Johnson that's focused on investing in urban areas.