Securities Docket put on another fantastic webcast on topics relevant to compliance professionals. Today’s focused on the upcoming Bribery Act in the United Kingdom. If your company has operations in the United Kingdom, you need to pay attention to this law. The upcoming law applies to individuals and companies and outlaws bribes to public officials … Read more »
Stay on Target
Don’t stray from your investment strategy. Don’t chase yields. Make sure your investment strategy follows your marketing materials. According to SEC charges, Charles Schwab failed to do this with its YieldPlus Fund in 2007. The fund was marketed as a Short Term Bond fund and described the Fund as a cash “alternative” that generated a … Read more »
Snow and Compliance
I’m staring out my front door at a half foot of snow, swaying branches heavily laden with wet snow, and an un-plowed street. The latest weather report for Boston: A Blizzard Warning remains in effect until 8 PM EST this evening. * Locations… the East Coast of Massachusetts from Scituate northward. * Hazard types… snow … Read more »
Repeal of Dodd-Frank?
Most compliance professionals have trepidation about parts of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. I would bet that most of the Representatives and Senators who voted for it (and against it) did not read the whole law and do not understand the changes being made. But should it be repealed in it’s … Read more »
Compliance and Foreclosures in Massachusetts
Why is the foreclosure machinery of our nation’s largest banks grinding to a halt? Failure to follow the legal rules. In other words: Compliance Failure. The latest comes from my home state of Massachusetts. The state’s highest court rulet that two foreclosures were invalid because they were not properly assigned to the foreclosing party. The … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces for January 7
Here are some recent compliance-related stories that I found interesting: Dodd-Frank: Too Many Regulations Too Fast? by Thomas Gorman in SEC Actions The average annual rate of rulemaking per year prior to Dodd-Frank for the SEC was 9.5, the CFTC 5.5, the FDIC 8 and the Federal Reserve 4.5 Post Dodd-Frank the average for the … Read more »
Facebook, Capital and Liquidity
There have been many stories written about the Goldman Sachs investment in Facebook. On one hand, there is the chatter about the investment placing the valuation at $50 billion. On the other, there hand there is the talk about how this affects a possible IPO by Facebook. There are two main reasons for an public … Read more »
The SEC, Funding, and Rulemaking
There is turmoil in Congress as Republicans take control of the House of Representatives. One of their targets seems to be implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. It’s probably too late to repeal it and too early to start amending it. Too much corporate machinery has been put in place … Read more »
Private Equity Portfolio Companies and Bribery Charges
The U.S. is investigating Allianz SE, for possible bribery by a German printing press company in which it holds a majority stake according to a story by Joe Palazzolo in WSJ.com’s Corruption Currents. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act bars US companies from paying bribes to foreign officials to keep or obtain business. The SEC claims … Read more »
God Says No More Money Laundering
I expect that we will see a see standard in anti-money laundering programs. Pope Benedict XVI committed the Vatican to the fight against money laundering, counterfeiting and the financing of terrorism. The headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church will now meet international standards of financial transparency. He has established a set of internal regulations which … Read more »