Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro offered some details about what’s on her agenda for the coming year as she took to the Hill this week to convince lawmakers to increase the agency’s funding. During March 11 testimony before a House Sub-committee, Schapiro detailed an ambitious agenda that includes improvement the SEC’s risk-based oversight […]
Melissa Klein Aguilar
Posted inFrom the Archive
False Claims Act Legislation Re-emerges
Legislation that would drastically expand the scope of the False Claims Act and make it easier for whistleblowers to file lawsuits on the government’s behalf is back in the Senate. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) recently reintroduced legislation to amend the FCA, similar to a bill introduced in the 110th Congress that […]
Posted inData Privacy
More Rules on EU Data Privacy, but Will They Help?
New guidance on shipping sensitive electronic data across borders may not be all that much help to global companies grappling with various nations’ compliance regimes, experts say. Differing attitudes in the United States and Europe about data privacy have vexed large companies for several years, as they try to manage their obligations here for discovery […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
NYSE’s Broker-Voting Rule Makes a Comeback
It’s back: A proposal from the New York Stock Exchange to keep broker-dealers from voting in elections for corporate board directors. The NYSE refiled its controversial proposal Feb. 26, more than two years after the exchange first tried to pass the reform against so-called “broker voting.” Assuming the idea finally wins approval—which is decidedly more […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Corp Fin Staff Observations for Small-Company IPOs
The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance has posted guidance for smaller reporting companies preparing registration statements. The staff has compiled a list of common comments made in connection with its reviews of initial registration statements under the Securities Act of 1933. The report, posted to the SEC Website March […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC Reviews Process for Handling Complaints, Tips
In keeping with a confirmation hearing pledge, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro unveiled a plan aimed at improving the way the agency handles the hundreds of thousands whistleblower complaints and enforcement tips it receives each year. The agency’s processes for handling tips and complaints became a topic of conversation in recent months following […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Securities Act Forms C&DIs Posted
As part of its ongoing effort to update and reformat its interpretive positions, the staff in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance staff has posted new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations related to the Securities Act Forms. Some of the C&DIs, dated Feb. 27, were first published in prior Division publications and some […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
House to Hold Hearing on Systemic Risk
House lawmakers are slated March 5 to hold the first in a series of hearings to examine how to improve the ability of the government to prevent private sector activities from putting at risk the stability of the U.S. economy. Pennsylvania Democrat Paul Kanjorski, chairman of the Sub-committee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Firms Mull Salary Freezes, Bonus Cuts, More
The market turmoil and increased public scrutiny of executive pay continue to impact companies’ compensation decisions, with more companies mulling freezing salaries, lowering bonus payouts, and cutting stock-based awards, according to the latest survey by compensation consultancy Pearl Meyer & Partners. Among 436 board members, executives, and human resources professionals surveyed in February, 90 percent […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Cos. Hastily Adjust Proxies for Say-on-Pay
Hundreds of companies may need to start speaking up about say-on-pay votes much more quickly than they expected. New guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission confirms that businesses participating in the Troubled Asset Relief Program—more than 400 companies at last count, including everyone who’s anyone in the financial sector—must offer shareholders an advisory vote […]
