Sky Blog
The staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued new guidance on the SEC’s rules requiring companies to disclose the pay ratio between their CEO and median compensated employee. The staff’s new …
There is an increasing worldwide focus on trying to end the problem of “too big to fail” (“TBTF”). Regulators are concerned that systemically important financial firms might engage in excessive risk-taking because they would profit from a success and be …
The latest Wells Fargo bank scandal has rekindled debates about breaking up banks that are too big to fail, too big to manage or too big to comply.
Echoing the debate between Louis Brandeis and Teddy Roosevelt in the Progressive …
On October 11, 2016, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) is “unconstitutionally structured” because its authority is vested in a single appointee who can be …
On September 23, U.S. District Judge William Pauley refused to approve a settlement between the CFTC and Deutsche Bank covering the bank’s failure to report swaps properly. Instead of rubber-stamping the settlement, the judge asked the parties for additional briefing. …
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on October 11 that, in fiscal year 2016, it filed 868 enforcement actions exposing financial reporting-related misconduct by companies and their executives and misconduct by registrants and gatekeepers, as the agency continued to enhance …
Good morning and thank you for that very kind introduction. It’s a pleasure to speak with you all today. Before I start, I must give our standard disclaimer that the views I express today are my own and do not …
On August 30, 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) reaffirmed its commitment to its whistleblower program by issuing the second largest award in its five-year history. While admittedly less dramatic than this $22 million payment, …
On September 8, the Federal Reserve, OCC and FDIC issued the long-expected report to Congress and the FSOC, as required under section 620 of the Dodd-Frank Act, regarding activities and investments of banks and their nonbank affiliates, which were defined …
The practice of allowing shareholders to cast non-binding say-on-pay votes has spread quickly and broadly throughout the world. It seemed that investors would finally get the opportunity to express their dissatisfaction with outrageous or ill-conceived compensation packages.
The practice was, …
Financial reform has driven many changes in American governance, but the most dramatic one may prove to be the government’s cautious, but wide-ranging, embrace of a revised global regime to regulate international finance. That reform has moved the equilibrium of …
The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act provided shareholders of U.S. public corporations the right to vote on chief executive officers’ compensation, at least every three years. The so–called say on pay vote is advisory but was designed to curb overly generous executive …
On July 28, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) issued its outline of proposals under consideration for the regulation of debt collection. This 117-page release, entitled “Small Business Review Panel for Debt Collector and Debt Buyer Rulemaking: …
On July 28, in conjunction with a field hearing on debt collection, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or the “Bureau”) released an outline of proposals under consideration to regulate the debt collection industry (the “Outline”).[1] Released as part …
We all remember the hectic summer and fall of 2008, when the U.S. financial system was at the brink of collapse. Since then, policymakers have enacted structural reforms to the financial system but left the market in repurchase agreements largely …
On August 10, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) announced its second major enforcement action against an employer for using contracts with employees that seek to impede employees from engaging in protected whistleblowing activity. Under rules …
After every crisis, academics, policymakers and other observers reflect on what went wrong and what could have been done differently. This in turn leads to some reforms to laws and regulations. In the wake of widespread, multi-country corporate governance failures …
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now accepting Form C filings from private companies seeking to sell securities through registered crowdfunding portals. We have been following the nascent crowdfunding space closely and will continue to monitor the adoption of …
On July 13, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted important amendments updating its rules of practice governing its administrative proceedings.[1] These changes concern, among other things, the timing of hearings in administrative proceedings, depositions, summary disposition, the …
Last week, news emerged that China had hacked the FDIC on several occasions during the past few years. This revelation renews concerns about the security of America’s financial institutions and comes on the heels of the third bank hacking through …