Although greatly anticipated, rulemaking to lift the longstanding ban on advertising private offerings has been met with a tepid response. The hesitancy of issuers to use the new exemption likely stems from concerns they have with verifying accredited investors, says Keith Higgins, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance Speaking before […]
Joe Mont
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Nation’s Top Energy Regulator Keeping a Close Eye on Wall Street
Just as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission evolved from its position as a niche regulator to one of the financial systems’ more important agencies in recent years, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is also looking to raise its profile, and it’s doing so with big fines, big targets, and big controversy. The complexity of the […]
Posted inUncategorized
SEC Could Consider New Cyber-Security Disclosures
Nearly every day reports surface of a data breach at a company where hackers stole customer credit card details or other sensitive personal data, or such information was mistakenly leaked to the public. Sometimes the breach has just happened and sometimes the problem occurred months ago or longer and is just now coming to light. […]
Posted inUncategorized
Amid Privacy Concerns, SEC Extends Comment Period on ABS Rules
Bowing to marketplace concerns, the Securities and Exchange Commission has once again extended the comment period for proposed rules affecting asset-backed securities. The comment period initially scheduled to end on March 28, will be extended until April 28. Since 2010, the SEC has mulled rules that would bring greater transparency to asset-backed securities. The current […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
SEC Must Limit Shareholder Resolutions, Commissioner Says
The Securities and Exchange Commission should have a diminished role in corporate governance and, likewise, activist investors should have less influence over proxy voting, says SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher. “It’s time we asked whether the shareholder proposal system as currently designed is a net negative for the average investor,” Gallagher said during a March 27 […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Aguilar Pitches Creation of an SEC Cyber-Security Task Force
For more than five hours this week, business leaders and attorneys discussed cyber-security issues at a roundtable held by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Most agreed that more had to be done. What that is, exactly, failed to find broad consensus. “There is no doubt that the SEC must play a role in this area,” […]
Posted inAnti-Bribery
Automakers in U.S. and Europe Pledge Supplier Sustainability
Fourteen of the world’s largest automakers have agreed to new standards for their suppliers on sustainability and responsibility issues, including human rights, working conditions, and business ethics. With dual announcements made in Michigan and Brussels, two corporate responsibility business associations, AIAG and CSR Europe, outlined the new agreement. Participating companies include BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Fiat, […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Five Big Banks Failed Federal Reserve’s Annual Stress Tests
Five of the nation’s biggest banks flunked their annual Federal Reserve stress tests for 2013. Citibank, the largest on the list, also came up short in 2012, and its back-to-back failures will prevent it from increasing shareholder dividends and moving ahead with share repurchases. The failures are not quite so simple as failing to tuck […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Rubio Makes Legislative Pitch for a National Regulatory Budget
Congress will set a budget each year that limits what regulations can cost American businesses if the National Regulatory Budget Act of 2014, a bill introduced in Congress this week by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) passes. The bill – all but assured to face a Presidential veto – would establish a new independent agency […]
Posted inUncategorized
SEC Suggests Private Websites for Underlying ABS Details
A long-delayed set of rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission aimed at creating more transparency for asset-backed securities could impose new demands critics fear will open companies to data privacy pitfalls, create new legal liabilities, and hamper one of the biggest capital market segments. The current proposal on the table from the SEC calls […]
