A harshly worded letter to Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, from European Union Commissioner Michel Barnier became public this week, further fueling tensions among international financial regulators. In the letter, Barnier, who represents France and oversees the commission’s financial services initiatives, decries new capital standards the U.S. wants to impose on foreign banks […]
Joe Mont
Posted inFrom the Archive
Walmart Links Executive Pay to Success of Compliance Programs
Reeling from the escalating costs and public relations fallout that has accompanied a federal bribery investigation, Walmart, late last year, announced a renewed focus on global compliance efforts. Now, the company is threatening to cut into executive bonuses if compliance-related goals are not met. In November 2011, the retailing giant, pushed by investigative reporting by […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Despite Talk of Basel III’s Demise, It’s Not Going Away
Wither Basel III? To hear some critics of the latest international banking standards tell it, the accord is on life support, felled by delays from the global banking regulators charged with implementing it and resistance from large and small institutions alike. Basel III, the latest in a series of international accords, was first published in […]
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How H-P Is Tackling Conflict Minerals Compliance
While some companies are struggling to get compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “Conflict Minerals” Rule on track to meet the May 2014 deadline, others have been working on the problem for years and are way ahead of the curve. Hewlett-Packard, for example, began work on tracing conflict minerals in the supply chain and […]
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FCA Details Approach to Investigating Regulatory Failures in U.K.
The Financial Conduct Authority, the newly formed financial watchdog in the U.K., has detailed its approach to investigating and reporting on regulatory failures. Effective April 1, the FSA and the new Prudential Regulation Authority replaced the phased out Financial Services Authority. The new FCA will supervise the conduct of approximately 26,000 firms across all financial […]
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Fed Hopes to Raise $440 Million With Proposed Big Bank Fees
To fund the enhanced supervision of banks mandated of it by the Dodd-Frank Act, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors is proposing a new fee for big banks that is intended to raise as much as $440 million. A proposal published on Thursday in the Federal Register seeks comments on a plan to establish an […]
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Cheer and Jeers Target California Bill Demanding Big Data Disclosues
Once again, California is a battleground for privacy advocates and Internet companies as they battle over “big data” collected from consumers. California Assembly bill AB 1291, also known as the “Right to Know Act of 2013,” is supported by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and American Civil Liberties Union, among others. It would make that state […]
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Regulators Demand More Risks Be Considered in Banks’ Living Wills
Flagging concerns found in 2012 resolution plans filed by 11 of the largest banks, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have announced additional information that will be required in the next round of “living wills” demanded by the Dodd-Frank Act. Resolution plans were required from U.S. bank holding companies with $250 […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
CEO Compensation Increases Slowed in 2012, Bonuses Plunged
Growth in compensation for chief executive officers at some of the nation’s largest corporations “slowed considerably” in 2012, a trend that reflects weakened financial performance, according to a new analysis of proxies by Towers Watson. The study also cites the decreasing use of earnings per share as a compensation metric. Its analysis found that total […]
Posted inUncategorized
Conflict Minerals Rule Compliance Is Off to a Slow Start
“It’s game time.” That’s the warning from Barbara Kipp, a partner in PwC’s risk assurance services practice, on ramping up compliance with new disclosure requirements for the use of conflict minerals in the company supply chain. Last August, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a final rule outlining how companies must report the use of […]
