All Rules & Proposals articles – Page 50
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Article
Dueling Views on SEC Enforcement
Image: A chronic dilemma for the SEC Enforcement Division is how best to focus its efforts given resource constraints. Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney had to answer for how those decisions are made during a meeting of the Investment Advisory Committee last week. Despite calls to abolish the “broken windows” approach, ...
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Article
Insurance Companies Face New Scrutiny and Bank-Like Regulation
Image: Insurance firms are in an identity crisis these days: Regulators are treating them like banks. While insurers are trying to resist that, regulators themselves still struggle with how to make sense of the global jumble of rules, requirements, and risk generated by large firms. “There are a lot of ...
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Article
Global Tax Overhaul Moves Forward
Slowly but surely, developed nations are closing ranks on an international tax agreement intended to crack down global companies parking profits in low-tax jurisdictions. The OECD issued its final recommendations, Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) plan, earlier this month, which G-20 countries will then implement locally. Nice idea in ...
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Article
New U.K. Law Introduces U.S.-Style Class Actions
Image: A change in British law is bringing American-style class-action lawsuits in cases where companies violate competition laws—something U.S. companies operating in Britain should keep in mind when implementing strategies to reduce antitrust risks. “It’s anticipated that there will be a lot more litigation in English courts going forward because ...
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Blog
SEC's Investor Advocate Slams NYSE Rule Change
For the first time, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Investor Advocate is urging the rejection of a rule proposal. The New York Stock Exchange wants to exempt early stage companies from obtaining shareholder approval before selling additional shares to insiders and other related parties. Rick Fleming, the ...
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Blog
Survey: Boards Hate Pay Ratio Rule, Cool With Clawbacks
Not surprisingly, most board members remain unconvinced that the pay ratio disclosure rule enacted by the SEC is worth the paper it is printed on, according to a survey by BDO USA. An SEC proposal requiring the disclosure of communications between the audit committee and the external auditor was similarly ...
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Advice Rolls In as SEC Disclosure Review Rolls On
Image: Stop us if you’ve heard this before: The SEC is attempting a comprehensive overhaul of its disclosure regime. This time, however, Chairman Mary Jo White may succeed where many of her predecessors failed. The SEC has numerous ideas to reform Regulation S-X, and no shortage of public comments on ...
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Blog
CFPB Considers Ban on Mandatory Arbitration Clauses
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is moving forward with new rules that would prohibit the mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts that banks, credit card companies, and others rely upon to prevent consumers from pursuing lawsuits. A variety of recommendations, published this week for public comment, are the results of a ...
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Article
SEC Faces New Obstacles in e-Discovery Efforts
As the SEC ferrets out inside traders and Ponzi schemers of the Internet Age, more voices are saying the agency has too much leeway to gather electronic records against investigation targets. Congress is mulling legislation to curb SEC power to get e-mail from Internet service providers; federal judges are applying ...
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Blog
With Safe Harbor Squashed, What's Next for European Data Transfers?
As anticipated, on Tuesday the European Court of Justice ruled the Safe Harbor program for international data transfers between the United States and European Union is invalid. While U.S. officials fret that the ruling will “undercut the ability of other countries, businesses, and citizens to rely upon negotiated arrangements with ...
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Blog
SEC Agrees to Issue Extractive Payments Rule By June 2016
The SEC will adopt a new rule by next summer requiring oil, gas, and mining companies to disclose payments made to host governments. The news came in a court filing on Friday, the latest move after a federal judge ordered the agency to propose and adopt the rule as soon ...
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Blog
Researchers Defend Big Money CEO Severance Pay
A surefire way for a company to garner bad press and anger investors is to reward an outgoing, terminated CEO with a hefty payout despite poor firm performance. A recent study published in The Accounting Review, a publication of the American Accounting Association, puts a contrarian spin on those controversies ...
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Blog
More Volcker Rule Questions Answered
The Securities and Exchange Commission has added another round of supplemental guidance to its growing list of “frequently asked questions” regarding Volcker Rule compliance. The latest updates, released on Sept. 25, address CEO attestation and compliance program requirements for market-making activities. More inside.
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Article
Defining Materiality and Sustainability
“Materiality” has long been defined as that financial information which might harm or benefit a shareholder. In modern corporate governance, however, that’s changing. One new proposal seeks to define material information in terms of sustainability for multiple stakeholders, not just shareholders. That has sparked debates over fiduciary duty, corporate personhood, ...
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Article
Supply Chain Risk Continues to Challenge Companies
Rare is the business these days that can afford to be cavalier about the regulatory scrutiny on its supply chain. So why do so many still struggle so much to gain visibility and control over vendors and suppliers? A lack of sophistication in monitoring third parties (never mind fourth parties ...
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Blog
SEC Launches Regulation S-X Review
The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking public comment on the effectiveness of financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-X. The request for comment, part of the Commission’s Disclosure Effectiveness Initiative, focuses on financial disclosures companies must file regarding acquired businesses and affiliated entities
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Blog
SEC Details How Government Shutdown May Affect Services
Anticipating a potential government shutdown, the Securities and Exchange Commission has published an “operational plan.” The EDGAR filing system would remain functional, but staff will be unable to process filings, provide interpretive advice, or issue no-action letters. New or pending registration statements and applications for exemptive relief will not be ...
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Blog
SEC Proposes Changes to Administrative Proceedings
The SEC has proposed changes to how it conducts its administrative proceedings, amid growing scrutiny of “APs” in the business and judicial world. The measures clarify the timing of proceedings, simplify requirements to seek a review by the full Commission, and require those involved in administrative proceedings to file and ...
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Blog
SEC Proposes New Rules for Mutual Funds, ETFs
The SEC has proposed a slate of rules intended to enhance effective liquidity risk management by mutual and exchange-traded funds. Among the requirements is a requirement for a board-approved liquidity risk management program. The Commission would also allow “swing pricing,” reflecting costs associated with shareholders’ trading activity in a fund’s ...
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Article
Appellate Court Ruling Leaves Compliance Officers Whistling in the Dark
Image: The recent appellate court ruling to expand Dodd-Frank whistleblower protections again, even to those who don’t report misconduct to the SEC, does no favors for companies trying to find the right policies for anti-retaliation. Ken Gage, head of the whistleblower defense practice at law firm Paul Hastings, says the ...