Sky Blog
“Culture, more than rule books, determines how an organization behaves.” – Warren Buffet[1]
In recent years, there have been ongoing occurrences of serious professional misbehavior, ethical lapses and compliance failures at financial institutions. It was the crisis that exposed …
In the wake of its release on May 17, 2016 of updated Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“CDIs”) relating to the disclosure of non-GAAP financial measures, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance has indicated in no uncertain terms that now is …
As we have previously observed, private fund advisers face a difficult challenge when SEC guidance (in the form of a speech or a public enforcement order) indicates that certain long-standing practices may be contrary to the securities laws. What does …
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 …
Despite substantial judicial and public scrutiny, non-prosecution agreements (“NPA”) and deferred prosecution agreements (“DPA”) have retained their prominence as vehicles to resolve complicated corporate investigations, particularly for companies operating in regulatory environments. In the first half of this year, NPAs …
A recent enforcement action reflects the CFTC’s expanded jurisdiction and provides further clarity on what constitutes “actual delivery” in cryptocurrency trading.
On June 2, 2016, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued an order (the Bitfinex Order) filing, and …
Months after the end of World War II, a 28-year old Brooklyn lawyer recently discharged as an Army officer took a job with a fledgling New Deal alphabet-soup agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC then operated from its …
In a recent paper, I considered the strength of securities fraud charges asserted in several computer hacker cases filed in mid-2015.[1] Some of the defendants in the cases were the hackers who used computer methods to obtain unauthorized …
Congress expanded the SEC’s ability to pursue enforcement actions in administrative proceedings in the Dodd Frank Act, bringing the agency’s use of proceedings before its own administrative law judges (ALJs) into the spotlight. A number of respondents have challenged the …
A perennial concern of policy makers around the world is the construction of a framework of financial regulation that is effective, efficient, and—most importantly—conducive to the emergence of deep and liquid financial market. While the channels through which financial development …
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that federal prosecutors are pursuing criminal cases against bank executives for allegedly selling flawed mortgage securities. The crux of the cases? That the bankers ignored warnings they were packaging too many shaky mortgages into …
At the outset, let me give the requisite reminder that the views I express today are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commission or its staff.[1]
Today I thought I would speak about our path-breaking …
On September 24, 2015, the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB), and Hudson City Savings Bank (Bank) entered into a consent order which, if approved by the court, would settle allegations that the Bank …
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that federal District Courts do not have subject-matter jurisdiction to entertain challenges to ongoing SEC administrative enforcement proceedings. A party to a pending administrative proceeding must defend against …
The enforcement program at the Securities and Exchange Commission has been the subject of severe criticism in recent years, and occasional changes to the system have not begun to root out the deeper, structural defects in the investigation and charging …
From the 2013 Target Corporation breach to this year’s attacks on Primera Blue Cross and American Airlines Group Inc., the issue of cybersecurity has emerged at the forefront of risks to be confronted by corporations across a spectrum of industries.…
In an administrative enforcement case called Flannery, a bare majority of SEC Commissioners adopted broad positions on primary liability under parts of the two main anti-fraud provisions in the securities laws, Rule 10b-5(a) and (c) and Section 17(a)(1), (2), …
FINRA’s newly revised Sanction Guidelines, effective immediately, signal that the upward trend in sanctions against broker-dealers is likely to continue.
The Sanction Guidelines, which establish the range of sanctions that FINRA may impose in formal disciplinary proceedings, affect several …
On April 1, 2015, the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed its first whistleblower protection case involving confidentiality obligations imposed on employees.[1] The SEC charged Houston-based technology and engineering firm KBR Inc. with violating Rule 21F-17, which prohibits all …
