I hope you and your family are staying healthy during this pandemic. We are in a time of great distress. Our health and our economy are at risk. Our country is dividing itself over the correct response.
It’s been weeks since I’ve published a blog post. I’m trying to adapt to constantly working at home. The house is full of distractions. But it’s also full of family. My regular work routine is gone and I don’t know when it will come back.
Many firms are talking about how to get back in the office safely and what that might look like. Landlords are figuring out how to get buildings back to effective work spaces, how to deal with elevators and how to deal with commutes.
All of my bike rides have been cancelled or “re-imagined” into a different form. Disappointing, but clearly the right call for the health of riders and volunteers. I’ve only pedaled one short bike ride outside in the last month. Nonetheless, I’m 1100 miles ahead of my yearly biking distance goal. I’ve converted to indoor riding on my smart trainer and Zwift.
In all of this chaos and change in routines, my Compliance Building writing has fallen to the side. I’m hoping to get back to writing and back into a new routine. Let’s see if it works and how long it lasts.
Here are a few stories that I found interesting.
Firm Wants FINRA Award Nixed After ‘Inattentive’ Zoom Panel
By Dean Seal
Law360
The arbitrators were also “effectively advocating” for Dominick throughout the case, Wunderlich said, and when they were not “interrupting testimony, they would appear to be inattentive and failed to follow the proceedings.” This culminated with the final hearing, held virtually, in which one arbitrator continually looked at other screens, another blocked her screen for a period of time and, during closing arguments, the third simply walked away from the screen, the petition alleges.
https://www.law360.com/securities/articles/1270795/firm-wants-finra-award-nixed-after-inattentive-zoom-panel?
Compliance and Coronavirus
by Jim Belin and John Petrovski
Compliance Podcast Network
Welcome to the newest addition to the Compliance Podcast Network, Compliance and Coronavirus. As the Voice of Compliance, I wanted to start a podcast which will help to bring both clarity and sanity to the compliance practitioner and compliance profession during this worldwide health and healthcare crisis. In this episode, I am joined by Jim Belin, as self-styled ‘contrarian investor’ and John Petrovski, a long time commercial real estate specialist in the lending arena. We take a deep dive into the reopening of the economies of the states in which we reside and where the economy may be going into 2012 and beyond.
http://fcpacompliancereport.com/2020/05/compliance-coronavirus-jim-belin-john-petrovski-reopening-economy/
FBI serves warrant on senator in investigation of stock sales linked to coronavirus
by DEL QUENTIN WILBER, JENNIFER HABERKORN
Los Angeles Times
Federal agents seized a cellphone belonging to a prominent Republican senator on Wednesday night as part of the Justice Department’s investigation into controversial stock trades he made as the novel coronavirus first struck the U.S., a law enforcement official said.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-05-13/fbi-serves-warrant-on-senator-stock-investigation
Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, turned over his phone to agents after they served a search warrant on the lawmaker at his residence in the Washington area, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a law enforcement action.
Tips to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have surged in recent weeks
Reuters
The agency has received over 4,000 such tips since mid-March, representing a 35% increase over the same period a year ago, Steven Peikin, co-director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, told attendees of a virtual conference.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/usa-sec-enforcement/tips-to-us-securities-and-exchange-commission-have-surged-in-recent-weeks-official-idUKL1N2CU2MJ
SEC Enforcement Chief Discusses How the Division Is Responding During the Pandemic
By Steven R. Peikin
The CLS Blue Sky Blog
We are all too familiar with the many ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed our personal and professional lives over these last several months.[1] We are confronting new and serious personal challenges, all the while endeavoring to continue our respective professional responsibilities. Like most of you, the SEC Staff have been teleworking since March. The disruption and changed work environment has had – and will continue to have – a substantial impact on the activities of the Division of Enforcement. But I am gratified to report that we have continued to execute on our important mission to protect investors, promote capital formation, and maintain fair and orderly markets.
https://clsbluesky.law.columbia.edu/2020/05/13/sec-enforcement-chief-discusses-how-the-division-is-responding-during-the-pandemic/
So this afternoon, I’d like to share with you how the Division of Enforcement is responding during this ongoing crisis. I’ll describe some of the work we are doing to detect and address COVID-19-related misconduct. Then I will turn to our regular docket of investigations and litigations. All of our regular enforcement responsibilities remain in place, and we are endeavoring to execute on them, though in many respects we have had to find new ways to do so. I’ll close with a brief discussion of where I see the Division going from here.
Cost of Compliance: New decade, new challenges
by Sussannah Hammond & Mike Cowan
Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence
For 11 years our Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence Cost of Compliance Report has given an unparalleled insight into the challenges facing risk and compliance officers in financial services firms around the world.
http://financial-risk-solutions.thomsonreuters.info/Cost-of-Compliance-2020
This year a tightening of risk and compliance budgets, regulatory and cultural change and the possibility of increasing personal liability all provided evidence of a cyclical turn from the post-financial crisis years. It is too early to tell how COVID-19 will influence that inflexion over the long term, but already regulators are issuing a flurry of revisions to rules, and firms are asking for the postponement of various regulatory initiatives so they can focus on managing events.
The report findings seek to help firms with planning and resourcing, while allowing them to benchmark their own approach. This year’s edition closed before the widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic had become apparent; thus, the report analyzes both the survey responses and, in an additional dedicated section, looks in more detail what better risk and compliance practice will look like in the face of continuing uncertainty.
