How can you beat the stock market? Become a member of Congress and trade on legislative actions! You might think that a member of Congress would be prohibited from trading on non-public information that they obtain through their official position. You might be wrong. Members of Congress and their staff do not owe any “duty … Read more »
Compliance & Ethics Institute Announces Las Vegas Lineup
The Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics has released the schedule of programs for its Compliance & Ethics Institute to be held September 13-16 in Las Vegas: Preliminary Brochure (.pdf) I am not sure if I am going to head out to Las Vegas for this particular conference, but there are some very interesting topics … Read more »
Bits and Pieces on Compliance
Here are a few stories and items that caught my eye this week, but I have not had time to build-out to a full post: SEC Speaks on Compliance Issues to Investment Advisers by Joel Beck of BD Law Blog Lori Richards, the Director of the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) spoke … Read more »
What Do Bernie Madoff, the Loch Ness Monster, and Alex Rodriguez Have In Common?
They are in the 2009 edition of Topps’ Allen & Ginter series of Trading Cards. The set will consist of 350 cards: 230 baseball players, 30 rookies, 25 historic figures and 15 world champions. It also will include 50 short-printed cards. Among the unusual inclusions to the basic set are Old Faithful (the Yellowstone geyser), … Read more »
Ethical Integrity Leadership – Setting the Tone From The Top
EthicsPoint sponsored this webinar and these are my notes. Howard Sklar, Vice President & Global Anti-Corruption Leader, American Express Company was the presenter. Howard was quick to point out that it is not just the “tone” but having the right “tone.” Also, it not be just the tone “at” the top, but that it be … Read more »
Ponzimonium, Ponzipalooza, Ponzimania
There is “rampant Ponzimonium.” Or is there a “virtual Ponzipalooza”? Bart Chilton, a commissioner at the Commodities Futures Trading Commission coined these terms in his speech on March 20 before American Bar Association’s Committee on Derivatives and Futures Law Students. Personally, I prefer Ponzimania. The CFTC has filed charges against 15 alleged Ponzi schemes so … Read more »
Combine Risky Mortgages With a Ponzi Scheme
Of course Scott Adams can find humor in Dilbert by combining the worst pieces of the financial industry collapse: risky mortgage loans, a Ponzi scheme, and misaligned executive compensation. Read more »
Did Compliance Programs Fail During the Financial Industry Meltdown?
Most people would say yes to this question. I think the answer is more complex. A stand alone compliance program could not prevent the over-exuberance, excessive risk taking, and ethical lapses that lead to the meltdown. The inspiration for this post came from an article by David Hechler, Risky Business: Did compliance programs fail the … Read more »
OFAC: Are You In Compliance?
ATTUS Technologies was kind enough to host a webinar on OFAC compliance. Bradley Allen, CAMS, gave the presentation and these are my notes. The mission of Office of Foreign Assets Control is to administer and enforce economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals against selected targets. It really came … Read more »
AIG Bonus – My Thoughts
I have not said much about the AIG bonus hullabaloo. Frankly, I thought the outrage was ill-informed and silly. AIG wanted to keep some people around to help fix the mess it was in. Any sensible person would have one foot out the door of AIG looking around for a more stable employment opportunity. So … Read more »