As it investigates a suspected kickback scheme in New York’s pension system, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been pushing to bar Steven L. Rattner, a prominent financier and former adviser to the Obama administration on the auto industry, from working in the securities industry for up to three years, according to three people told of the discussions. But Mr. Rattner has fiercely resisted the proposed penalty, setting up a face-off with the federal government, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the negotiations are intended to be confidential. It would be the most severe penalty for any of the Wall Street executives ensnared in the wide-ranging pension investigation, and it would carry a significant stigma for Mr. Rattner, whose rise in high finance catapulted him to the top of New York’s social and political hierarchy. The S.E.C. and the New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, have suggested that Mr. Rattner improperly paid off a political operative to win lucrative business from the New York state pension fund — in one case, by arranging to help distribute a low-budget film for the brother of a pension fund official.
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Even being barred temporarily would be a blow to Mr. Rattner’s career and could endanger several of his pursuits. He will soon publish a book about his experience trying to restructure the American auto industry, which was widely praised. And he is playing a vital role in creating an investment office for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, which will oversee billions of dollars for the mayor’s ambitious new philanthropic foundation. Under the proposed S.E.C. settlement, Mr. Rattner, 57, would most likely be barred from advising Mr. Bloomberg on his finances, people briefed on the matter said. A spokesman for the mayor declined to comment. Mr. Rattner’s troubles could also prove embarrassing for some well-known Democratic politicians. He and his wife, Maureen White, have become influential donors, turning their sprawling Fifth Avenue apartment into something of a salon frequented by leading figures, including Hillary Rodham Clinton and Harold E. Ford Jr., the former Tennessee representative.