The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton will recuse himself from matters involving Royal Bank of Canada and other clients he has recently represented if confirmed to head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that Barclays, Deutsche Bank, UBS, RBC, Ally Financial and Pershing Square were among the financial firms listed as Mr. Clayton's clients at Sullivan & Cromwell. Mr. Clayton has agreed to not participate in SEC matters involving the firm for one year. He will also recuse himself from matters involving his former clients for one year after he last provided them legal services. The SEC currently has only two members -- Republican Michael Piwowar and Democrat Kara Stein -- and they often disagree about policy matters. Should Mr. Clayton be confirmed and then recuse himself, the agency will be left deadlocked until other commissioners are nominated and confirmed. At full force, the SEC has five voting members, including the chair. Mr. Clayton also promised to divest 176 assets collectively worth millions of dollars. Mr. Clayton and his wife reported up to $130.4-million (U.S.) in assets.