All articles by Aaron Nicodemus
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News BriefSEC risk alert warns investment advisers of marketing rule missteps
Examiners with the Securities and Exchange Commission found investment advisory firms have generally done well creating processes to comply with the agency’s amended marketing rule but some have fallen short in ensuring compliance.
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News BriefDOJ pilot floats NPAs for whistleblowers involved in corporate misconduct
The Department of Justice launched a new pilot program that encourages voluntary self-disclosure by corporate executives who are themselves involved in financial misconduct, with the incentive of a nonprosecution agreement for those who help an agency investigation.
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PremiumSEC’s Grewal: General compliance principles for avoiding AI washing
Gurbir Grewal, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, laid out general principles for “proactive compliance” to avoid making false or misleading claims about the capabilities of artificial intelligence products and services.
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News BriefFINRA orders Barclays unit to pay $700K over conflicts of interest
A Barclays unit agreed to pay $700,000 to settle allegations levied by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that its research analysts violated conflict-of-interest rules and the firm failed to sufficiently supervise their trades.
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News BriefSEC fines five investment advisers in marketing rule sweep
Five registered investment advisers agreed to pay a total of $200,000 in penalties for allegedly violating the Securities and Exchange Commission’s amended marketing rule.
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PremiumEffective risk culture starts at the top. Everyone is required to make it successful
There is no magic wand compliance professionals can wave to promote a strong risk culture within their organizations, experts discussed at Compliance Week’s 2024 National Conference.
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News BriefKPMG Netherlands fined record $25M by PCAOB for exam cheating
KPMG Netherlands agreed to pay a record $25 million penalty levied by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for allegedly allowing widespread cheating by employees on internal training exams and misinforming regulators about the misconduct.
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PremiumExperts: ESG gone mainstream, but new regs still create headaches
Environmental, social, and governance goals have gained acceptance from senior leadership because of upward pressure from employees, investors, and customers, according to compliance leaders speaking at Compliance Week’s 2024 National Conference.
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PremiumSEC official breaks down agency calculus for off-channel comms penalties
Sanjay Wadwha, deputy director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, discussed the agency’s rationale for issuing widely disparate penalties for off-channel communications recordkeeping violations, as well as violations of its amended marketing rule.
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News BriefLegal pushback prompts SEC to stay climate-related disclosure rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission delayed implementation of its climate-related disclosure rule until the courts can rule on appeals filed in response to the controversial policy.
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PremiumEx-Albemarle CCO shares drivers behind data analytics success at CW2024
Former Albemarle CCO Andrew McBride explained at Compliance Week’s 2024 National Conference how he led the company’s compliance department to remediate the issues that led to apparent FCPA violations and how the team used data analytics to assess risks and implement compliance solutions.
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News BriefAT&T: Data leak exposed info of 73M customers onto dark web
AT&T said personal account data on approximately 73 million current and former customers was released on the dark web two weeks ago but has not yet identified when and where the breach occurred.
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PremiumCBP stats show persistent problem areas under UFLPA
It’s been nearly two years since the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act took effect, and as enforcement statistics and recent reports demonstrate, many businesses are still not adequately vetting their supply chains.
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News BriefTreasury report identifies AI use ‘capability gap’ between large, small FIs
A Treasury Department report assessing the use of artificial intelligence tools by the financial sector identified a “growing capability gap” in in-house AI use between large and small financial institutions.
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News BriefSEC to review registrants’ preparation for next-day trade settlements
The Securities and Exchange Commission wants broker-dealers and certain clearing agencies to know the expectations for the reduction of the settlement cycle for national and international trades from two business days after the trade date to one day.
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PremiumNAVEX whistleblower report finds third parties lead on business integrity
A new report on corporate whistleblowing and hotline trends in 2023 found reporting volume at an all-time high, with key disparities uncovered between reports filed by third parties and those filed by employees.
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PremiumOCC’s Hsu: ‘Sense of fairness’ key to bank compliance initiatives
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu argued banks should adopt a “strong sense of fairness” to bolster the effectiveness of their compliance programs, particularly regarding lending decisions guided by AI and machine learning tools.
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PremiumFDIC proposes strengthening, modernizing bank merger reviews
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation proposed to strengthen its approach to evaluating bank mergers under the Bank Merger Act, particularly how it would address factors like competition, financial resources, the convenience and needs of communities, financial stability, and money laundering.
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News BriefAdani Group on defense over reports of FCPA probe
Indian conglomerate Adani Group said it is aware of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into bribery allegations against a “third party” but denied a relationship with it.
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PremiumExperts: Legal noise around SEC climate disclosure rule no excuse for standing still
Legal experts are advising their public company clients to move forward with plans to comply with the SEC’s climate-related disclosure rule, despite lawsuits and other challenges being brought against the controversial policy in the aftermath of its approval.