Columbia Law School
Sky Blog
Good afternoon.[1] I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you again today as part of the Corp Fin Workshop. I wanted to make a few remarks about the important work being done in the Division’s Disclosure Review Program and
Securities and Exchange Commission
The Dark Side of Safe Harbors
Safe harbors are useful and nifty. Consider the SEC’s accredited investor safe harbor under Rule 506 of Regulation D, which allows private securities offerings to sufficiently wealthy investors. Rule 506 facilitates capital formation and promotes efficient markets. Yet …
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses SEC Charge of Internal Accounting Controls Failure Based on Cybersecurity Breach
On June 18, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced charges against R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (“RRD”) for failure to maintain adequate internal accounting controls in violation of Section 13(b)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange …
SEC Chair Gensler Speaks on Shortening the Settlement Cycle
Last month, the U.S. smoothly shortened the settlement cycle for equities, corporate bonds, and municipal securities to one day after the transaction date (T+1). This step better unifies the U.S. market structure, where Treasuries, options, and mutual funds already largely …
SEC Chair Testifies Before Senate Subcommittee on Financial Services
Good morning, Chair Van Hollen, Ranking Member Hagerty, and members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me to testify today on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget request. As is customary, I’d like to note …
Looking Under the Hood of Activist Fraud Campaigns
Corporate fraud poses a significant agency cost for stock ownership. Activist short sellers, who conduct and publicize investigative research, play a crucial role in exposing such fraud, in contrast with most short sellers who quietly await price catalysts without public …
SEC Chair Speaks on Markets, Securities Laws, and the SEC
I’d like to welcome you—the nearly 120 members of the “Class of 2024” attending the SEC’s International Institute on Securities Market Growth and Development. As is customary, I’d like to note that my views are my own as Chair of
Davis Polk Discusses Appeals Court Decision Vacating SEC’s Private Fund Advisers Rule
On June 5, 2024, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously ruled to vacate the SEC’s new rules and amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the Advisers Act) that targeted private …
SEC Enforcement Chief Discusses Five Principles of Effective Cooperation in Investigations
This event, together with its East Coast and now Midwest counterparts, offers regulators like me a unique opportunity to speak directly to leaders of the securities bar about issues of mutual concern. That’s what I’d like to do this afternoon
… Davis Polk Discusses Crypto Market Structure Bill in U.S. House
In an important step forward, the House voted to pass a bill to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets and offering important protections for customers. It could be improved by expressly discarding Howey, Reves or similar inherently …
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses SEC Rule Amendments to Regulation S-P
On May 16, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) significantly expanded its consumer information protection framework by adopting rule amendments (the “Final Amendments”) to Regulation S-P, which governs the protection of consumer financial information held by broker-dealers, investment companies, …
SEC Corporation Finance Chief Addresses Disclosure of Cybersecurity Incidents
SEC Chair Gensler Speaks on Trends in Asset Management
As is customary, I’d like to note that my views are my own as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and I am not speaking on behalf of my fellow Commissioners or the staff.
Jack Bogle, the father of
SEC Chief Accountant on Fostering a Healthy “Tone at the Top” at Audit Firms
Audit firms are private businesses with the same legitimate interest in making a profit that all private businesses have.[1] But audit firms have also been entrusted to be essential gatekeepers in maintaining the integrity of our capital markets. The …
Insights on the Incidence, Disclosure, and Risk of Corporate Litigation
Public companies face a wide range of legal claims, yet the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have questioned whether public companies provide sufficient disclosure to warn investors of potential losses from these claims. …
The Big Lessons from the SEC Speaks Conference 2024
The SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) recently hosted the 2024 SEC Speaks conference in Washington, DC. During the event, SEC leaders, including the Chair, commissioners, and senior staffers, shared their views about key priorities and trends in the enforcement …
What the SEC’s “Shadow Insider Trading” Trial Means for In-House Counsel
On April 5, 2024, a jury in California federal court found a former corporate executive liable for insider trading in SEC v. Panuwat, a novel enforcement action involving a theory known as “shadow trading.” In Panuwat, the U.S. …
How Delegated Corporate Voting Advances Corporate Democracy
Starting in the 1930s with the earliest version of its proxy rules, the Securities and Exchange Commission gradually increased the proportion of instructed votes on a shareholder’s proxy card until, for the first time in 2022, it required a fully-instructed …
SEC Enforcement Chief Speaks on the Future of Combating Corporate Fraud
One of the hallmarks of PCCE is that it brings together academics, regulators, and industry professionals, and allows us to have candid conversations about corporate misconduct and the ways in which we can all work together to improve compliance.
And
Private Equity Negotiations
For most of its history, the private equity industry was largely left alone by securities regulators. A basic assumption underlying this approach was that private equity fund investors are sophisticated and should therefore be able to engage in effective private …