On July 30, 10 years to the day after the sweeping business reforms of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act were signed into law, its architects recalled its history, and slammed recent legislation they say weakens it, at an event with the Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society. The discussion with former Senator Paul Sarbanes and former Representative […]
Joe Mont
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
AML Compliance Back in the Spotlight
Well, one explosive report about drug cartels and terrorist groups funneling money through U.S. banks, plus one compliance officer announcing his resignation during a U.S. Senate committee hearing, and presto—anti-money laundering efforts, and the lack thereof, are back in the news. The specific bank on the anvil of public discontent right now is HSBC, the […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
What’s Left for Dodd-Frank Rulemaking?
By the time children celebrate their second birthday they have already begun walking and even running. The Dodd-Frank Act, however, turned two this month, but it’s still crawling along. As of mid-July, only one-third of the regulations it mandates have gone into effect, according to a status report by law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell. […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
HSBC Pledges Compliance Overhaul, Sets Aside $2 Billion
A statement issued today by HSBC Group Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver tried to soften the blow for shareholders who might be reading by starting with a claim of revenue growth in Hong Kong and Latin America. Consider it “burying the lede.” A couple of paragraphs later came the information most were looking for, commentary on […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Study: U.S. Languishes Behind Rest of the World in Sustainability Practices
The good news: U.S. companies do far better than their global peers when it comes to having business ethics policies. The bad news: that is one of the only areas where they don’t fall far behind in sustainability practices and transparency. On July 27, The Conference Board, in collaboration with Bloomberg and the non-profit Global […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
CFTC May Demand High-Tech Tracking for FCM Funds
Leveraging technology to ferret out fraud is the latest push by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in response to the high profile, big money meltdowns at two futures commission merchants (FCMs) in recent months. In October, MF Global was found to have misappropriated and “lost” roughly $1.6 billion in customer funds. More recently, it was […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Survey: Institutional Investors Behind the Ball on Derivatives Reforms
Institutional investors, struggling to adapt to ongoing derivatives reform and new margin demands, are placing most of their focus on the clearing aspect of regulatory requirements. That was among the details in a report issued on July 26 by State Street Corporation. The study, “Charting New Territory: Buy-Side Readiness for Swaps Reforms,” analyzed the readiness […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
House Hearing Looks at Good, Bad and Ugly of SOX 10 Years Later
On Thursday, members of the House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing on “The 10th Anniversary of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.” The assessment of that historic, and still controversial, legislation was conducted by the body’s Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises. The hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. in Room 2128 of the […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Republicans Escalate Pre-Election Regulation Attacks
A recurring theme in Washington D.C. over the past week is the Republican-driven push to roll back regulations ahead of the November presidential election. Looking to carve into the regulatory landscape created in large part by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 10 years ago, is H.R. 6161, The Fostering Innovation Act. Introduced on July 20, by U.S. Rep. […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
NFA Tries to Cut through Confusion Facing Commodity Pool Operators
Responding to Commodity Futures Trading Commission rule amendments that rescind registration exemptions for commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors, the National Futures Association on Monday launched a new education initiative to assist those impacted. In February, the CFTC issued final rules that rescind the exemption from registration available to CPOs offering certain qualifying pools. CPOs who […]
