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SEC Commissioners

SEC Approves Whistleblower Rules; Some Concessions Made

Arielle Bikard May 25, 2011

The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted its much-anticipated new rules for expanded whistleblower protections and reward bounties today. The rules do nudge whistleblowers to report corporate misconduct first via internal hotlines, but still promise to be a sore point with Corporate America and a temptation for tipsters to run straight to the SEC with news of wrongdoing. More inside.

'Much Remains to be Done' for FSOC, Says Schapiro

Arielle Bikard May 12, 2011

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro testified before the Senate last week on the progress of launching the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which was required by the Dodd-Frank Act. She said the FSOC has created an organizational structure, but still has much work to do on designating "systemically important financial institutions."

Schapiro Addresses Flash Crash Prevention Plans

Arielle Bikard May 06, 2011

On the one-year anniversary of the infamous May 6, 2010, stock market flash-crash, Chairman Mary Schapiro outlined what the SEC and other agencies have done to address market vulnerabilities, and affirmed that "further examination is not only desirable, but required."

First Mention in this Blog of "Dead Frogs"

Bruce Carton June 24, 2009

What if I were to tell you that a Form 8-K filed yesterday with the SEC has a 280+ word discussion comparing the challenge of estimating legal fees to "being asked to predict how many minutes after being force fed a dead frog we would throw-up?" Is that something you...

SEC's IG Reports on Possible Insider Trading by Staff

Bruce Carton May 15, 2009

UPDATE: A copy of the SEC Inspector General’s Report entitled, “Employee’s Securities Transactions Raise Suspicions of Insider Trading and Create Appearances of Impropriety” is available here. (via CBS News). CBS News reports in this video on two attorneys at the SEC who are reportedly under "active" criminal investigation by the...

India's CBI: Auditors Aware of Satyam Misstatements

Bruce Carton April 23, 2009

Things may start to get even uglier for PwC over in India, as India's Central Bureau of Investigation (its equivalent of the FBI) now alleges that two auditors from PwC's India-based office were aware that Satyam's financial statements were being misstated, but still signed off the figures in return for...

Senators Propose Additional $20mn for SEC Enforcement

Bruce Carton April 22, 2009

Just days after it was reported that the SEC's Enforcement Division is “well down” in head count from prior years and stuck in a holding-pattern until Congress approves its new budget, two senior U.S. Senators proposed that the Enforcement Division receive $20 million in additional funds to hire more enforcement...

Rating Agencies: Voice Your Opinion in the CW Forum

Bruce Carton April 16, 2009

In this post yesterday, I discussed Mary Schapiro's comments at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Roundtable on Credit Agencies, in which she stated that the role of credit rating agencies must be an area for the agency’s “intense review” as it considers how to promote investor protection and restore confidence.Schapiro...

Luis Aguilar: The Enforcement Commissioner

Bruce Carton March 19, 2009

Commissioner Luis Aguilar joined the SEC in July 2008. In his short time at the SEC, Aguilar has quickly positioned himself as the SEC Commissioner with the strongest interest in enforcement issues. In several speeches over the past eight months, Aguilar has taken strong positions advocating changes in the enforcement...

Cancel Your Plans for Wednesday Night: "American Greed"

Bruce Carton February 13, 2009

Cancel your plans for Wednesday, February 18th (9:00 pm EST), or at least get your TiVo ready to go. That evening, CNBC's "American Greed" series is airing an episode entitled "A Scam Exposed: Strippers and Insider Trading" about the astonishing SEC insider trading case against Eugene Plotkin (pictured), David Pajcin,...

SEC's Schapiro Announces Immediate Measures to Bolster Enforcement

Bruce Carton February 06, 2009

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro delivered a speech this morning at PLI"s 2009 "SEC Speaks" conference that announced several important new Enforcement Division initiatives.First, Schapiro stated that as a "first, but significant," step in empowering the Enforcement staff,I am this week taking action to end the Commission's two-year "penalty pilot" experiment,...

For Those Still Waiting for the "Chairman Cox Has Resigned" Press Release...

Bruce Carton January 22, 2009

Broc Romanek makes a good observation today on his blog at TheCorporateCounsel.net about the conspicuous absence of any type of announcement from the SEC upon Chairman Cox's resignation Tuesday:Apparently, SEC Chair Chris Cox resigned on Inauguration Day, even though it didn't make news until later yesterday - and the SEC...

SEC Commissioner Aguilar's Prescription for an Ailing Enforcement Division

Bruce Carton January 14, 2009

On January 10, 2009, SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar delivered a speech entitled, "Empowering the Markets Watchdog to Effect Real Results" in which he presented some specific "internal shifts in policy" that he would like to see made immediately. The speech was notable for the unusually candid recognition by Aguilar...

Treasury: No Consensus on Limiting Auditor Liability

Bruce Carton October 17, 2008

On October 6, the U.S. Treasury Department's Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession issued its Final Report. The report was the product of 12 months of work by the Committee, which was headed up by former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt and former SEC Chief Accountant Donald Nicolaisen, and consisted of...

Must-Read: "S.E.C. No Evil"

Bruce Carton September 18, 2008

If you are interested enough in the subject that you visit a blog called "Enforcement Action" (and we're happy that you are!) then you must read "S.E.C. No Evil," an article by Scott Paltrow in the October 2008 issue of Conde Nast's Portfolio. The article is an in-depth look at...

Walters Sworn in as SEC Commissioner

Bruce Carton September 05, 2008

On July 9, Elise Walters, one of three new SEC commissioners recently appointed by President Bush and confirmed by the Senate, was sworn in by Chairman Christopher Cox at a ceremony held at the SEC.After being sworn in, Ms. Walters promised to "do my utmost to live up to the...

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