Columbia Law School
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Thank you, Chair Tinagli and Members of the Committee. I’m honored to appear before this Committee for the fourth time, and for the first time as Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As is customary, I’d like to
Securities Regulation
Leading Law Firms Respond to Investment Company Act Lawsuits Targeting SPAC Industry
Editor’s Note: A response to the statement below immediately follows this post.
Recently a purported shareholder of certain special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) initiated derivative lawsuits asserting that the SPACs are investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, …
The Anti-SPAC Attack Claque
A joint letter by 58 law firms is certainly a notable declaration, particularly when pulled together within a mere 10 days after litigation initiated by esteemed scholars. Observers might be tempted to wonder whether the motivation for such a quick …
Supreme Risk for FINRA and Other SROs
Most efforts to manage systemic risk tend to focus on risks arising from within financial markets, from existing regulators, or from legislative misadventures. Yet self-regulatory organizations (SROs) and the markets that depend on their steady functioning now face an underappreciated …
The SEC, Digital Assets, and Game Theory
Digital assets, cryptoassets, cryptocurrencies, and security-tokens have become ubiquitous. Yet approaches to regulating them differ around the globe. In the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) has become a uniquely active crypto-regulator. In my recent article, …
Cleary Gottlieb Discusses Final Rules For UK-Listed SPACs
On July 27, 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published a policy statement that includes final rules amending the UK Listing Rules, and new associated guidance, applicable to special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”).[1] The new …
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses SEC Case on Misleading Disclosure of Cybersecurity Incident
On August 16, 2021, the SEC charged Pearson plc with misleading investors and failing to maintain adequate disclosure controls and procedures in connection with a cybersecurity incident. According to the SEC’s order, Pearson learned in March 2019 about an intrusion …
Wachtell Lipton Discusses a New Variation in SEC Insider Trading Enforcement
Earlier last week, the SEC filed a complaint in the Northern District of California alleging insider-trading charges that may signal a more aggressive approach to enforcement under the agency’s new leadership. In SEC v. Panuwat, the SEC charged a …
Wachtell Lipton Discusses Latest SEC Enforcement Action over Cyber Breach
In yet another important signal of the SEC’s increasing focus on how public companies respond to, and issue disclosures concerning, significant cyber breaches, the Commission announced yesterday that it had entered into a settled administrative order with Pearson plc, finding …
Paul Weiss Discusses SEC Focus on Crypto Enforcement
At the Aspen Security Forum on August 2, 2021, SEC Chair Gary Gensler reaffirmed the SEC’s heightened focus on cryptocurrency. Following these comments, the SEC announced two enforcement resolutions that provide further guidance on the SEC’s approach to crypto enforcement. …
Democrats’ Gift-Wrapped Cloak of Secrecy for Wall Street
On July 29, 2021, the House Financial Services Committee voted to advance H.R. 4618, The Short Sale Transparency and Market Fairness Act, a well-intentioned bill with a misguided provision that was likely the product of hurried drafting. The legislation …
SEC Commissioner Peirce on Nasdaq Board Diversity Proposal
Private Equity, State Pension Plans, and the SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission under Chair Gary Gensler has been exploring transparency issues and other problems in the private equity industry and considering whether additional policy interventions are needed. One motivating factor is that public pension plans are the …
SEC Chair Gensler Discusses Crypto Regulation
Some might wonder: What does the SEC have to do with crypto?
Further, why did an organization like the Aspen Security Forum ask me to speak about crypto’s intersection with national security?
As is customary, I’d like to note that …
Wachtell Lipton Discusses Mandatory Climate Change Disclosure Rules – A Preview From the SEC Chair?
SEC Chair Gensler Speaks on Climate Risk and Disclosure
It’s good to be here with the Principles for Responsible Investment. As is customary, I’d like to note my views are my own, and I’m not speaking on behalf of the Commission or the SEC’s staff.
Before we get to …
SEC Chair Gensler Speaks Before ABA Derivatives and Futures Law Committee
Thank you for the kind introduction. It’s good to be back with the American Bar Association’s Derivatives and Futures Law Committee.
As is customary, I’d like to note that I’m not speaking on behalf of my fellow Commissioners or the
SEC Commissioner Peirce Speaks on ESG Disclosure
This summer was the summer of the cicadas. The dull hum of their song permeated the solitude of an evening stroll, along with the disconcerting crunch as pedestrian attempts to avoid squashing the creatures inevitably failed. Every seventeen years the …
Does the Strength of Investor Protection Laws Predict Capital Market Development?
Which countries provide the strongest investor protection laws? How are such laws related to the level of capital market development and ownership concentration in public companies? In a series of influential works, La Porta, Lopez-de-Silanes, Shleifer and Vishny (1997, 1998, …
The Evolution of Environmental Discourse in Conference Calls
Climate change disclosure ranks among the priorities of Gary Gensler, the new chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. With the rapid reallocation of capital to green investments – characterized as a “tectonic shift” by BlackRock[1] and a “frenzy” …