All articles by Joe Mont – Page 75
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Article
Why Wait for SEC? The DIY Disclosure Review
While companies await results of the SEC’s ongoing review of its disclosure regime (hint: do not hold breath), they can just as well try the same at home. Creating a disclosure committee, cutting redundancy in 10-K risk factors and MD&A sections, spotlighting material information, and using charts and graphs are ...
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Article
FTC, FDA Take Closer Look at Disclosures
The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on companies with questionable advertising disclosures. The Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, may allow shorter lists of side effects in drug and medical device ads, even as it prepares tougher standards for how these companies use online advertising and social media. The focus ...
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Blog
SEC Retreats on Proxy Access No-Action Letters
The SEC has reversed course on an earlier no-action letter that let Whole Foods thwart a shareholder proposal for greater proxy access, which essentially paves the way for many more such shareholder proposals to come this proxy season—including 75 filed by New York City’s pension fund. The SEC will now ...
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Blog
SEC Adopts Swaps Rules; Piwowar Slams CCO Changes
The SEC has adopted new rules that will require security-based swap data repositories to register with the Commission and adhere to new recordkeeping and data transparency requirements. Commissioner Michael Piwowar was a dissenting vote over what he says were last-minute changes intended to crack down on individuals who lie to ...
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Blog
Republicans Move on Volcker Rule, XBRL
The new Republican majority in Congress launched its first strike against the Dodd-Frank Act last Wednesday, passing a bill that offers banks a semi-reprieve from the Volcker Rule and exempts small companies from filing financial statements tagged in XBRL. The legislation now moves to a Senate vote and is likely ...
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Blog
MetLife Makes a Federal Case of its SIFI Designation
MetLife has filed a lawsuit to undo its designation as a non-bank systemically important financial institution by the Financial Stability Oversight Council. Although CEO Steven Kandarian said the company had hoped to avoid litigation, it marks the first time a too-big-to-fail designation has been challenged before a federal judge.
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Article
NLRB Push Forces Rethinking of Social Media Policies
Through numerous rulings last year, the National Labor Relations Board reshaped the boundaries of acceptable social media policies companies can impose on employees. The result: an unsettling world where, yes, employees might be allowed to curse a manager or to use corporate e-mail to raise pro-union sentiments. Compliance officers might ...
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Blog
SEC Announces 2015 Examination Priorities
The SEC has released its examination priorities for 2015. The list includes cyber-security controls and assessing anti-money laundering efforts, with a focus on firms that have not filed suspicious activity reports or have incomplete or late filings. SEC staff will also examine proxy advisory service firms, assessing how they make ...
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Article
Latest PCI Standard Pushes Toward Risk Management
Image: Version 3.0 of the PCI Data Security Standard goes into effect this month—and maybe, just possibly, it will strengthen companies’ discipline against credit card data theft. The new standard prods companies to approach security as a continuous risk monitoring duty. “You can’t have smooth implementation until you start to ...
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Blog
White House Unveils New Data Security Efforts
On Monday, President Barack Obama proposed several new initiatives intended to enhance data security and combat identity theft. Among the proposals is legislation requiring companies to notify customers within 30 days when their personal information has been exposed, criminalizing the overseas trade in identities, and preventing certain uses of student ...
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Blog
Podcast: Casinos Double Down on Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
Casinos have traditionally had a less-than-stellar track record when it comes to their anti-money laundering efforts. But now, amid increased scrutiny on AML compliance by regulators, the American Gaming Association has released its first-ever AML best practices guidebook. In our latest podcast, we talk to Fred Curry, a principal in ...
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Podcast
Podcast: Casinos Double Down on Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
Casinos have traditionally had a less-than-stellar track record when it comes to their anti-money laundering efforts. But now, amid increased scrutiny on AML compliance by regulators, the American Gaming Association has released its first-ever AML best practices guidebook. In our latest podcast, we talk to Fred Curry, a principal in ...
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Blog
Responding to Controversy, American Apparel Revisits Code of Conduct
It may not mention ousted CEO Dov Charney by name, but American Apparel's new Code of Conduct may give companies ideas for how to toughen up their sexual harassment policies. The new document, four times longer than the one it replaces, expands upon expectations for employee conduct, requires supervisors to ...
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Blog
CFTC Outlines Expectations for New Annual Reports from CCOs
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently shed more light on the new annual reports that compliance officers at swaps dealers must now provide. The CFTC guidance outlines expectations for assessing a firm’s written policies and procedures, including the code of ethics and conflict-of-interest policies. Shortcomings must be explained in detail, ...
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Blog
FTC Chair Warns of Internet of Things Data Privacy Concerns
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Edith Ramirez took to the floor of the International Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas last week to offer companies a warning about the “Internet of Things” and broadband-connected cars, wearable tech, and home appliances. Connected devices pose significant privacy and security implications, she said, urging ...
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Blog
U.S. Sentencing Commission Rethinks Securities Fraud Punishments
The U.S. Sentencing Commission is considering changes to how securities-related crimes are punished, potentially imposing less jail time upon defendants in securities fraud cases. A proposal unveiled on Friday detailed a plan to rely on gains obtained by a defendant, rather than the traditional assessment of the losses suffered by ...
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Blog
BofA Moves Compliance From Legal to Risk Management
Image: Bank of America has moved its compliance function out of the legal department and into its risk-management organization, reporting to Chief Risk Officer Geoff Greener (left). The compliance shuffle comes as bank regulators continue to prod financial firms to do a better job of integrating compliance efforts with risk ...
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Blog
OSHA Begins New Reporting Requirements
A reminder from the Department of Labor: As of New Year’s Day, employers have new reporting requirements when a workplace injury occurs. A rule adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires businesses to report work-related fatalities within eight hours, and work-related hospitalizations and amputations within 24 hours.
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Article
Preparing for Pay Rules, Privacy, and a New Congress
The SEC is likely to spend 2015 churning through as much rulemaking for the Dodd-Frank Act as it can, never mind being years behind schedule on that front. To complicate matters for the agency, Congress is also likely to try repealing some parts of the law even before the SEC ...
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Article
Better Ways to Test Banks’ Stress
Image: Title: KraynThe banking world will start 2015 with another bout of hand-wringing over stress tests. Critics question whether the tests probe what truly makes large banks a threat to the financial system, and banks know they must somehow use technology to streamline the annual exercise. “Throwing people at the ...