SEC

Accusers as Adjudicators in Agency Enforcement Proceedings

By Andrew Vollmer May 8, 2018 by renholding

Largely because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1975 decision in Withrow v. Larkin, the accepted view for decades has been that a federal administrative agency does not violate the Due Process Clause by combining the functions of investigating, charging, …

SEC Chair Clayton Talks Retail Investment Services and Forward-Looking Regulation

By Jay Clayton May 3, 2018 by renholding

It is wonderful to be in Philadelphia.

It is wonderful to be at Temple University. It is very kind of Temple to host this event. I will speak for about 30 minutes and then take questions.[1]

Before I move …

SEC Investment-Management Director Talks Conduct Standards and Liquidity Risk

By Dalia Blass May 2, 2018 by renholding

I am going to touch on two areas of work that reflect our efforts to be a responsive regulator that seeks engagement from all as we develop regulatory policies: the standards of conduct for investment professionals and liquidity risk management.…

Davis Polk Discusses SEC’s $35 Million Fine for Late Cyberbreach Disclosure

By Avi Gesser, Joseph A. Hall, Lawrence Portnoy, Linda Chatman Thomsen and Richard D. Truesdell, Jr. May 1, 2018 by renholding

On April 24, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Altaba Inc., formerly Yahoo! Inc., with misleading shareholders by waiting almost two years to disclose its 2014 data breach. Consenting to a cease-and-desist order, Altaba agreed to pay a $35 …

Arnold & Porter Discusses Regulators’ Clamp-Down on ICOs, Virtual Currencies, and Blockchain Firms

By Andrew Joseph Shipe, Lawton M. Camp, Michael D. Trager, Christopher L. Allen and Anthony Raglani April 30, 2018 by renholding

If there was ever a regulatory grace period for virtual currencies and blockchain technology, it is officially over.  Five federal regulators—The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the US Treasury Department (FinCEN), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures …

The Middle-Market IPO Tax

By Robert J. Jackson, Jr. April 26, 2018 by renholding

It’s a real honor to be here with you today at the Greater Cleveland Middle Market Forum.* In addition to leading some of the nation’s most promising young companies, you all have done exceptional work making sure that the …

Latham & Watkins Discusses SEC’s Take on Digital Asset Trading

By Wenchi Hu, Vivian A. Maese, John J. Sikora Jr. and Timothy P. Pisacreta April 24, 2018 by charlesbluesky

Crypto trading platforms worldwide should be aware of recent SEC actions if they provide access to US persons or persons within the US for trading.

Global financial regulatory authorities have begun to take action and release guidance regarding the emerging …

Blue Sky Banter Podcast: SEC’s Robert Jackson on Dual Class Shares and More

By Reynolds Holding April 19, 2018 by renholding

Robert Jackson, a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a former professor at Columbia Law School, speaks with Reynolds Holding about becoming a commissioner, the problem of perpetual dual class stock, and what the commission can do

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Video: The Biggest Issues Facing Securities Markets in the 21st Century

By Merritt B. Fox, Lawrence R. Glosten and Edward F. Greene April 16, 2018 by renholding

An esteemed panel of regulators, scholars, and lawyers gathered at Columbia Law School on March 29 to discuss Securities Market Issues for the 21st Century, a new e-book on the most important areas of inquiry for securities regulation and …

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses the SEC’s New Cyber Unit, Six Months On

By Jonathan S. Kolodner, Rahul Mukhi, Matthew C. Solomon and Anne Titus Hilby April 3, 2018 by renholding

On September 25, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) announced the creation of a Cyber Unit within the Enforcement Division in order to further the Division’s “substantial expertise in the detection and pursuit of fraudulent …

SEC Discusses Online Trading Platforms — With a Word of Caution

By Stephen J. Crimmins March 29, 2018 by renholding

On March 7, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division and its Trading & Markets Division issued a joint “Statement on Potentially Unlawful Online Platforms for Trading Digital Assets.”[1]  The release appeared to be the strongest signal yet …

How Cross-Border Cooperation Improves Securities Enforcement and Financial Reporting

By Roger Silvers March 27, 2018 by renholding

In a recent study, I investigate cross-border coordination among national securities regulators and its impact on enforcement and financial reporting. The paper provides an in-depth look at the cross-border enforcement program at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), …

Debevoise Discusses the New SEC Cybersecurity Guidance

By Luke Dembosky, Jeremy Feigelson, Matthew E. Kaplan, Jim Pastore and Paul M. Rodel March 26, 2018 by renholding

On February 21, 2018, the SEC issued new Guidance regarding cybersecurity disclosure and governance requirements applicable to SEC reporting companies. In our earlier Client Update on this topic, we discussed the disclosure considerations addressed in the Guidance. In this Client …

Ropes & Gray Discusses the Regulatory Push to Rein in ICO Market

By Christopher Conniff, Michael McGovern, Helen Gugel and Jessica Soricelli March 21, 2018 by renholding

On March 1, 2018, Overstock.com disclosed that its ongoing $250 million initial coin offering has been under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission since February.¹ The investigation appears to be part of a widespread probe pursuant to …

Securities Litigation in 2017: “It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times”

By John C. Coffee, Jr. March 19, 2018 by renholding

Securities class actions soared in 2017, jumping from 271 filings in 2016 to a near record 412 filings in 2017 — well above the average of 193 per year for the years 1997 to 2016.[1] Only 2001 was comparable, …

Latham & Watkins Discusses SEC Charges Against BitFunder and the State of Digital Asset Trading

By Wenchi Hu, Vivian Maese and John Sikora March 19, 2018 by renholding

The SEC continues to send messages to the nascent cryptocurrency market. The agency has recently brought enforcement actions and issued a public statement that illustrate the agency’s views on how the federal securities laws apply to crypto or digital asset …

Fact and Fiction: The SEC’s Oversight of Administrative Law Judges

By Robert J. Jackson, Jr. March 9, 2018 by renholding

I’ve had the honor of serving as a commissioner of the SEC for just over a month now— and I’ve learned a lot in that time, mostly from the outstanding staff.  I’ve been schooled about cryptocurrency, spent hours wading through …

SEC Warns About Online Platforms for Trading Digital Assets

By Divisions of Enforcement and Trading and Markets March 8, 2018 by renholding

Online trading platforms have become a popular way investors can buy and sell digital assets, including coins and tokens offered and sold in so-called Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”).  The platforms often claim to give investors the ability to quickly buy

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SEC Allows Exclusion of Conflicting Proposals on Special Meeting Thresholds – With a Twist

By Keith F. Higgins March 7, 2018 by renholding

Late last year, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued a no-action letter in which it agreed that a proposal seeking to lower the threshold for calling a special meeting from 25 percent to 10 percent of the outstanding shares …

Whistleblower Provisions of Dodd-Frank Deter Aggressive Financial Reporting

By Christine I. Wiedman and Chunmei Zhu March 5, 2018 by renholding

In 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced a Whistleblower (WB) program as part of the Dodd-Frank Act to protect investors through greater deterrence of securities law violations and more effective enforcement. The program offers financial incentives to provide …