All articles by Joe Mont – Page 67
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Blog
OFAC Fines Boston Firm for Contracting Iranian Developers
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has fined a Boston-area software company for violating Iranian sanctions by using Web developers from that country. The company was fined $205,650 despite protests that the amount was too high and “its lack of a compliance program and failure to implement one ...
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Blog
Bill to Require SEC Disclosures on Human Trafficking
U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Chris Smith (D-N.J.) have introduced the Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act of 2015. The bill would require large public companies to disclose measures to prevent human trafficking, slavery, and child labor in their supply chains as part of annual ...
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Blog
SEC Sets Aug. 5 Date for Considering Final Pay Ratio Rule
The wait is over. On Aug. 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission will consider whether to adopt a rule requiring public companies to disclose the ratio of the annual total compensation of the chief executive officer to the median of the annual total compensation of the company’s employees. The proposed ...
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Article
Four Years On, Firms Still Struggle With CFPB Compliance
What have we learned in the four years the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been on the beat? For starters, it’s aggressive, returning $10 billion so far to consumers through enforcement actions. A solid understanding of the CFPB’s compliance program expectations remains elusive, and the mood among firms in the ...
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Article
How Comment Letters Could Shape the Pay Ratio Rule
When the SEC proposed its pay ratio disclosure rule in 2013, it included a list of nearly 60 questions for public comment. The response: 287,547 letters and counting, with plenty of ideas about dealing with foreign workforces, seasonal workers, employee exclusions, and Sarbanes-Oxley certification risks. As the final rule slouches ...
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Blog
Mead Johnson Nutrition Pays $12M for FCPA Violations in China
Mead Johnson Nutrition will pay $12.03 million to settle civil charges that it violated books and records requirements of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when a China-based unit made improper payments at state-owned hospitals. The settlement, the result of an administrative proceeding, was detailed in an Offer of Settlement the ...
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Blog
FINRA Fines Goldman Sachs $1.8M for Trade Reporting Failures
Goldman Sachs Group has agreed to pay $1.8 million to resolve allegations by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that one of its units failed to accurately submit required trade reports, filed inaccurate trading data for more than eight years, and did not have adequate systems and controls in place ...
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Blog
Fiat Chrysler Will Pay $150M, Largest Ever NHTSA Penalty
Acknowledging violations of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act’s requirements to repair safety defects, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has agreed to a $105 million civil penalty, the largest ever imposed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The automaker agreed to an independent monitor, approved by the NHTSA and in place for ...
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Blog
Appellate Court Allows Constitutional Challenge to CFPB
A small Texas bank scored a potentially big victory last week when a federal appeals court ruled that it has standing to challenge the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The decision, overturning a 2013 district court ruling, rejected a similar challenge to the Financial Stability Oversight Council and ...
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Blog
Gallagher Blasts Labor Dept.’s Proposed Fiduciary Rule
Image: Dan Gallagher, a reliably conservative voice at the SEC, is slamming the Labor Department’s proposed fiduciary standard for broker-dealers. The rule means clients who are not high net worth “will be ‘fired’ by their brokers or jettisoned to robo-advisers,” he said. Gallagher also lauded a court decision striking down ...
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Blog
Podcast: The Increasing Demands on Healthcare Compliance
Image: The Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services continue to focus on healthcare fraud and compliance lapses. In response, healthcare associations, including the HHS Office of Inspector General, have collaborated on related guidance. In our latest podcast, we talk to Michael Peregrine, a partner with the ...
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Podcast
Podcast: The Increasing Demands on Healthcare Compliance
The U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services continue to signal a focus on healthcare fraud and compliance lapses. On a more helpful note, the American Health Lawyers Association, HHS' Office of Inspector General, and the Health Care Compliance Association recently collaborated on guidance for healthcare ...
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Article
Firms Prepare for Heightened AML, Due Diligence Expectations
Expect an even greater focus on anti-money laundering efforts in upcoming examinations by the SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. That was the message from speakers at a “Compliance Outreach Program” the Securities and Exchange Commission hosted for financial firms last week. What’s more: New Treasury Department rules that could ...
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Article
Product Safety Recalls Create New Breed of Compliance Concerns
Image: Automakers, airbag manufacturers, and even ice cream companies have suffered regulatory wrath over product safety concerns and inadequate recall procedures. Those in the crosshairs, especially if the Consumer Product Safety Commission is involved, are finding that their missteps can come with hefty fines and rigid compliance demands. “Companies that ...
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Blog
Fed Hands Big Banks New Risk-Based Capital Surcharges
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve has issued a final rule that establishes risk-based capital surcharges for financial institutions designated as “global systemically important bank holding companies.” JPMorgan was handed the largest surcharge among the nation’s eight largest banks, 4.5 percent of its risk-weighted assets. More inside.
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Blog
Legislation Seeks Curbs on Regulatory 'Revolving Door'
Newly proposed legislation, the Financial Services Conflict of Interest Act addresses the so-called “revolving door” that results when regulators draw talent from the private sector and those officials and staffers ultimately return to regulated entities after leaving an agency. To address perceived conflicts of interest, the bill would require ...
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Blog
Martin Wheatley Resigns as FCA Chief Executive
The Financial Conduct Authority has announced that Martin Wheatley, its chief executive, will leave his post in September 2015. Wheatley was selected in 2013 to shepherd the creation of the U.K. regulator. His resignation was reportedly prompted by news that his contract would not be renewed next year. Director of ...
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Blog
White: SEC Enforcement Not Targeting Compliance Professionals
Image: The message from SEC Chairman Mary Jo White to compliance officers: They are not the target of enforcement efforts. Speaking to 1,000 compliance officers from financial services firms and broker-dealers at a Commission-sponsored forum, White said, “We do not bring cases based on second guessing compliance officers’ good faith ...
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Blog
Survey: Global Regulations Cost Some Financial Firms $500 Million
More than half of large financial services firms with more than $40 billion in assets expect to invest at least $200 million—and some as much as $500 million—on projects to overhaul how they do business and address global structural reform regulations this year, according to a survey from global consultancy ...
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Blog
Investor Advocates Want SEC to Create National Broker Database
A coalition of investor advocacy groups, including Public Citizen, the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association, and the PIABA Foundation, is calling upon the SEC to supplement the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s BrokerCheck system for vetting financial professionals with a national disciplinary database and to make improvements to the existing ...