Reese Darragh

Four agencies announced last Friday that despite a downgrade of the U.S credit rating by credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s, all banking organizations in the country should maintain the same treatment of all federal debts issued by the U.S. government and federal agencies. In a joint statement released last Friday, the Federal Reserve Board […]

Last month, a U.S. federal appeals court struck down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Rule 14a-11, more commonly known as the Proxy Access Rule, citing the regulator’s failure to provide a fair and consistent cost and benefit analysis on the rule implementation. The rule would have required companies to include shareholders’ director nominees in companies’ […]

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission passed the final rule on Section 23 amending the Commodity Exchange Act to implement incentives and a protection program for whistleblowers. During today’s meeting, the Commission determined that potential whistleblowers will be awarded between 10 percent and 30 percent of sanctions of more than $1 million collected from wrongdoers depending […]

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs has postponed the confirmation hearing for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau nominee Richard Cordray until Sept 6. The meeting had been scheduled for tomorrow, and no explanation was offered for the delay. The Senate left early for its August recess after approving the nation’s debt ceiling limit […]

Compliance officers take note: The Securities and Exchange Commission updated their rulemaking deadline schedule last Friday, postponing its target dates on some of the Dodd-Frank Act’s rules. Of significance are the delays under Section 953 and 955, which include provisions on pay-for-performance, pay ratios, and hedging by employees and directors, as well as Section 954 […]

Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services said companies received improved overall endorsement on their executive compensation program, with 91.2 percent gaining an average approval rate this year compared to 89.2 percent last year. In its preliminary findings, ISS attributed the improvement to greater engagement by companies in explaining to shareholders their pay practices in supplemental […]

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will hold a hearing on Aug 4 to expedite the process of naming a chief for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, it said in a statement. Richard Cordray, currently assistant director for enforcement at CFPB, received the nomination from President Obama to head the bureau last […]

Last proxy season 36 Russell 3000 companies lost shareholder advisory votes on executive compensation, also known as say-on-pay. Although only a small minority experienced failed votes, say-on-pay is having a significant effect on corporate pay practices. Many companies are making changes to their compensation plans, especially those that garnered lukewarm support or lower from shareholders […]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opened its doors for business on July 21 and immediately set to work on an ambitious agenda, including a long list of rulemaking requirements, study reports, and the setting up of a hotline for complaints about consumer credit cards. The bureau’s top priority was publishing the final list of regulations […]