The SEC announced today that it brought 734 enforcement actions in its fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2012, just one shy of the record 735 enforcement actions it brought in 2011. SEC Chair Mary Schapiro observed that in each of the last two years, the SEC has brought more enforcement actions than ever before, and credited the SEC staff for the record performance. She called the results "a testament to the professionalism and perseverance of the staff and the innovative reforms put in place over the past few years.”

Schapiro emphasized that the 734 actions included "some of the most complex cases we've ever seen." The agency stated that twenty percent of these cases were designated as National Priority Cases, representing the Division's most important and complex matters. Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami also sought to look beyond the numbers, saying it was the "increasing complexity and diversity of the cases we file that shows how successful we've been."

The SEC highlighted certain cases from 2012, including:

Financial Crisis-Related Cases: The SEC brought 29 separate actions related to the financial crisis in 2012. In these cases, the SEC named 38 individuals as defendants, including 24 CEOs, CFOs and other senior corporate officers. The agency added that over the last 2½ years it has filed financial crisis-related actions against 117 defendants, nearly half of whom were CEOs, CFOs and other senior corporate executives.

Insider Trading Cases: The SEC brought 58 insider trading cases in 2012, one more than last year. The combined 168 total insider trading actions filed in FY 2010, 2011 and 2012 are the most in SEC history for any three-year period.

Aberrational Performance Inquiry Cases: The agency filed actions charging three advisory firms and six individuals as part of the Aberrational Performance Inquiry initiative (previously discussed here) looking at abnormal performance returns by hedge funds.  

Issuer Disclosures: The SEC brought 79 actions for financial fraud and issuer disclosure violations.

FCPA: The SEC filed 15 actions for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Municipal Securities: The SEC filed 17 enforcement actions related to municipal securities, more than double the number filed in 2011. 

Trial Results: The SEC's trial record in 2012 was 21 wins and 1 loss. 

Penalties and Disgorgement Orders: The SEC obtained orders requiring the payment of more than $3 billion in penalties and disgorgement in 2012, an 11 percent increase over 2011.

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