All articles by Jaclyn Jaeger – Page 105
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Blog
Fed to Santander: Overhaul Your Governance Practices
The Federal Reserve Board this week levied an enforcement action against Santander, ordering it to overhaul its governance practices in several areas, including board oversight, risk management, capital planning, and liquidity risk management. No financial penalties were issued. Details inside.
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Blog
Canada AML Study Finds Compliance Gaps
A first-of-its-kind survey on Canadian compliance professionals conducted by Grant Thornton finds significant weaknesses in the AML compliance practices of Canadian companies. Among the findings: many compliance staff are not consistently visiting their overseas locations and rarely tailor their AML training programs to the specific needs of different groups, particularly ...
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Article
Rule Change to Ease Export Controls in the Cloud
Image: Good news: U.S. export control regulations may finally be catching up to modern cloud computing technology, with new rules to focus on keeping sensitive data secure rather than on where the data is stored. Defense and tech companies are likely to be beneficiaries, as they could now use cloud ...
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Article
EU AML Directive Fires Starting Pistol on Beneficial Owners Reform
European financial firms are preparing to implement new anti-money laundering rules that will require reporting about the real owners of the businesses they work with. The rules, intended to help EU governments pursue tax crimes and terrorist financing, “will increase the level of transparency across all transactions,” says Ambrose Loughlin ...
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Blog
North America Soccer Groups Push Reforms After FIFA Scandal
The governing bodies for professional soccer in North America and the Caribbean are overhauling their governance frameworks, amid increasing scrutiny of the sport worldwide since U.S. officials charged a slew of FIFA officials with corruption last month. The group, known as CONCACAF, says the changes are “an additional step … ...
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Article
Advisers Still Feel Unease Over CCO Liability Risk
Image: The conversation about personal liability for compliance officers is buzzing again, thanks to a hornet’s nest SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher stirred up with a complaint about recent sanctions against two CCOs. “We’re hearing similar concerns among CCOs at investment adviser firms—and not just from CCOs, but also from senior ...
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Article
Compliance Officers as Strategic Partners
Lots of people talk about the compliance function as crucial to business strategy today, but gaps remain: According to one PwC survey of chief executives, 78 percent of CEOs say overregulation is the top threat to growing their business; at the same time, only 35 percent of CCOs in PwC’s ...
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Blog
SEC Rebukes Investment Advisory Firm for Ignoring CCO Pleas
A bit of good news amid the discussion of personal liability for chief compliance officers: The SEC has delivered a one-year suspension to an investment advisory firm’s former president on the grounds that he consistently ignored the chief compliance officer’s request for resources, which led to the firm’s compliance failures. ...
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Blog
Two South African Companies Dodge FCPA Charges
The Securities and Exchange Commission this month closed two separate investigations into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act without bringing any enforcement actions. Each investigation involved alleged bribery payments made by South African companies. Details inside.
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Blog
OECD Praises, Pans Israel Anti-Corruption Efforts
Israel still has a long way to go when it comes to combating the bribery of foreign public officials involving Israeli companies and individuals, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Out of 14 foreign bribery allegations, four are the subject of a formal investigation—three of which were ...
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Article
Anti-Corruption Reforms Push Forward in Mexico
Mexico has moved forward again on its quest to strengthen anti-corruption laws there, adopting reforms to clear the path for government authorities to uncover and prosecute acts of corruption committed by companies, individuals, and government officials. More legislative work is ahead, but so far Mexico’s laws might even surpass the ...
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Blog
SEC Charges 36 Firms for Fraudulent Muni-Bond Offerings
The SEC has brought enforcement actions against 36 municipal underwriting firms for violations in municipal bond offerings. The cases are the first to be brought against underwriters under the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative, a voluntary self-reporting program targeting material misstatements and omissions in municipal bond offering documents. Details inside.
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Blog
SEC Charges CCO of SFX With Compliance Failures
The Securities and Exchange Commission last week brought fraud charges against the former president of SFX Financial Advisory Management Enterprises for stealing client funds. The firm and its chief compliance officer separately agreed to settle charges that they were responsible for related compliance failures and other violations. Details inside.
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Blog
Two More NPAs Reached Under Swiss Bank Program
The Department of Justice today announced that two more banks—Bank Linth (Bank Linth) and Bank Sparhafen Zurich AG (BSZ)—have reached a resolution under the Department’s Swiss Bank Program, which provides a means for Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal liabilities in the United States. Bank Linth will pay a $4.1 ...
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Blog
Poll Portends Big Changes in Executive Pay Disclosure
A recent poll by Towers Watson hints at big changes to come in disclosure of executive compensation, in the wake of the SEC’s proposed pay-for-performance rules. One-third of poll respondents said they expect to change their compensation disclosure significantly; 55 percent said they expect to provide additional information and analysis ...
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Blog
Eletrobras Investigating Possible FCPA Violations
Brazil’s state-run power company Eletrobras announced this week in a Form 6-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has hired law firm Hogan Lovells to evaluate whether the company may have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Brazil’s anti-corruption law, and Eletrobras’ Code of Ethics. Eletrobras said ...
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Blog
IAP Worldwide to Pay $7.1 Million in FCPA Case
Defense and government contracting company IAP Worldwide Services yesterday agreed to pay a $7.1 million penalty and entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice. The NPA requires IAP to “conduct a review of its existing internal controls, policies and procedures, and make any necessary modifications to ensure ...
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Blog
Report: Attributes of Effective E&C Programs
Companies with top-performing ethics and compliance programs conduct formal assessments of their programs at least annually compared to their lower-scoring peers. They also are more likely to use metrics—such as audits, employee survey results, Code of Conduct violations, hotline call metrics, and more—in setting business objectives, and they typically have ...
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Article
More Banks Tying Pay to Corporate Values
More financial institutions, facing pressure from regulators and investors, are starting to tie compensation practices to ethical behavior and appropriate risk-taking—although progress has been slow. “A consistent leadership culture is necessary in which corporate values, business strategy, and formal incentives support each other,” said Jürgen Fitschen, co-chair of the group ...
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Blog
PetroTiger Exonerated From FCPA Prosecution
First, it was Morgan Stanley in 2012. Now, for only the second time in the history of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (at least, that's been publicly reported), the Department of Justice has exonerated a company from FCPA prosection, despite guilty pleas by three of its top executives. The Justice ...