Sky Blog
Whether you’re here in person or participating virtually from around the country, or even overseas, I thank you for joining us.
As is customary, my remarks this morning are in my official capacity as Director of the Securities and Exchange …
Corporate boards will be called upon to renew their oversight of corporate compliance following the recent announcement of several new corporate fraud enforcement initiatives by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Most notably, these include a new whistleblower program and …
Today, Columbia is honoring Jack Coffee, a leader of securities law scholarship and policy. I hope Columbia one day might invite me back to celebrate your career, Professor Fox. Caveat inviter, though, at the SEC, we are Merritt neutral. As …
On March 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted an administrative stay of the SEC’s climate disclosure rules, which were adopted on March 6. The rules are discussed in our earlier post here.
The 20-word …
The shareholder proposal process has gone too far. How else to interpret the proposal recently sponsored by the climate activist investors Arjuna Capital and Follow This at ExxonMobil, which called on the oil giant to reduce further its carbon footprint? …
Does the enforcement of securities law by government authorities make a difference for market outcomes? This is an important question for policymakers and scholars and our focus in a forthcoming book chapter.
The academic debate on the question began with …
Today [March 6], the Commission is considering whether to adopt final rules to mandate climate risk disclosures by public companies and in public offerings. I am pleased to support this adoption because it benefits investors and issuers alike. It would …
Proponents of ESG have recently had to contend with several developments that, at first blush, appear inconvenient. Investor support for ESG-focused shareholder proposals seems to have declined year-on-year, and some investors have abandoned ESG-themed funds while others have withdrawn from …
Last year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed ambitious rules relating to artificial intelligence (AI) that have drawn significant commentary and criticism. While it is unlikely that any changes in the law are imminent, other initiatives by the …
On February 13, the U.S. Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) proposed1 (the “Proposed Rule”) to apply affirmative anti-money laundering and countering-the-financing-of-terrorism (“AML/CFT”) program obligations as prescribed by the Bank Secrecy Act (the “BSA…
On January 24, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final rules that impose significant additional procedural and disclosure requirements on initial public offerings (IPOs) by special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and in business combination transactions involving SPACs (de-SPACs). …
Scarlett Johansson played
Many claims have been made about the current pace of SEC rulemaking, some inconsistent with reality. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for example, has claimed that under Chair Gary Gensler the SEC launched an “unprecedented” “barrage of rulemaking.”[1] A …
On February 6, 2024, the SEC adopted by a 3-2 vote a set of final rules that “further define” terms used in the statutory definition of “dealer,” adjusting the “dealer-trader” distinction in a way that could significantly expand the scope …
Today [February 8], the Commission voted to adopt amendments to Form PF, an important reporting tool whereby the Commission and the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) receive reporting from private fund advisers. I am pleased to support the adoption because
Managers have strong incentives to present a favorable image of their companies to investors, analysts, and the public, raising concerns about the credibility of voluntary disclosures. These concerns are particularly severe for unaudited forward-looking disclosures because they are often qualitative …