U.S. Democrats name financial crisis investigators

WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) - Brooksley Born, a former head of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission who also warned about unwarranted risks in the U.S. financial system, was appointed on Wednesday to help investigate the causes of the U.S. and global financial crisis.

Congress has established a 10-member Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission that is supposed to produce a final report by Dec. 15, 2010.

Democratic leaders also named Phil Angelides to chair the inquiry. He is a former California state treasurer. The other four commission members named by House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are: former Senator Bob Graham of Florida, Heather Murren, a retired managing director at Merrill Lynch, Byron Georgiou, a Las Vegas-based businessman and attorney, and John Thompson, Symantec Corp (SYMC.O) board chairman.

Four additional members will be appointed by Republican leaders in the House and Senate.

The commission is expected to probe fraud and abuse in the financial sector, federal and state government enforcement of regulations, credit rating agencies and other factors that may have contributed to the financial crisis, which has helped feed a severe economic recession.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Editing by Sandra Maler)