Gov. Cuomo Aide Benjamin Lawsky New Head Of Financial Oversight In New York

ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The New York Senate has confirmed one of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's top aides to head the new state agency responsible for oversight of financial services in New York.

Benjamin Lawsky, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan and Cuomo's chief of staff, is the first superintendent of the Department of Financial Services.

He was a special assistant to Cuomo as attorney general.

The new agency combines the state's banking and insurance departments starting in October.

Cuomo advocated the consolidation, which lawmakers approved in the budget, in part so the next new products on Wall Street, like credit default swaps that supported the troubled subprime mortgage securities, won't go unregulated.

Lawsky says the goal is lean, efficient regulation that promotes healthy insurance and banking industries while protecting consumers and markets.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)