I had my first encounter with a black swan. Not Taleb’s Black Swan. A real black swan. From 2010 Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines Iowa The encounter was unexpected, but there was no significant loss or gain. Read more »
Compliance Bits & Pieces for July 23
Here are some recent stories that I found interesting: Dodd-Frank Forum: What would Brandeis think? by Mike Guttentag in The Conglomerate Louis Brandeis famously coined the metaphor (“sunlight is the best policeman”) that provided the philosophy underpinning the first federal securities acts (disclosure, disclosure, and more disclosure). I thought it might be fun to run … Read more »
SEC is Changing Form ADV
The SEC is trying to improve Form ADV. I wonder if it takes into account the new registration standards under the Dodd-Frank Act or whether they will need to make another to recognize the new law. From the SEC press Release SEC Approves Disclosure Form Changes to Provide Investors Greater Information About Their Investment Advisers: … Read more »
Now It’s the Law
President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act at the Ronald Reagan Building today. The clock starts ticking on the compliance and rule-making deadlines. “The fact is, the financial industry is central to our nation’s ability to grow, prosper, compete, and innovate. There are a lot of banks that understand and … Read more »
UK Bribery Act Delayed
When I saw there was a press release from the UK’s Ministry of Justice, I was expecting an announcement of what it meant for a commercial organization to have “adequate procedures” to prevent bribery. That being the only affirmative defense under the Bribery Bill. It turns out that implementation of the Bribery Act will be … Read more »
Do Prosecutions Stop Insider Trading?
We generally assume that the prosecution of crime acts as a deterrence to others who may think about committing the crime. One of the key factors in fraud is opportunity. If the wrongdoer thinks they can not get away with the violation, they are less likely to commit the violation. At least that is the … Read more »
It Does Not Take Much to Get You Into FCPA Trouble
The recent FCPA enforcement actions brought against Veraz Networks, Inc. shows that it does not take huge piles of money to get in trouble. Veraz admitted to making improper payments of only $40,000. Not that $40,000 is an insignificant amount. It just pales in comparison to the huge dollars we have seen on other FCPA … Read more »
Goldman Settles; Fabulous Fab is Left on His Own
Goldman Sachs settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s not a surprise. Goldman did not want to litigate this action. It wanted it to go away. As a shareholder in Goldman, I wanted it to go away. It seems others did also. GS stock price opened at $138.50 on Thursday morning. It opened at … Read more »
Compliance Bits & Pieces for July 16
Here are some recent stories that I found interesting: Canada and the Corruption of Foreign Officials Act by Tom Fox The CFPOA was passed in back in 1999. However, up until this year, there was only one enforcement action under the legislation involving a Canadian company and no prior enforcement actions against individuals. The Canadian … Read more »
Revisiting Toyota, Ethics and Compliance
After many people slapped Toyota with the unethical label over its unintended acceleration problem, it appears that Toyota may be vindicated. The Wall Street Journal is reporting some early results form the U.S. Department of Transportation’s analysis of data recorders. They found that throttles were wide open and brakes not engaged on Toyotas involved in … Read more »