October 30, 2015
One analyst per 5,000 ratings = $6M SEC settlement for DBRS
The Securities and Exchange Commission this week yanked away the curtain at DBRS, a credit-ratings agency, and revealed that the firm employed only one analyst to conduct the majority of surveillance tasks...
October 28, 2015
Defendant’s testimony in Libor criminal case is unusual strategy
The first US criminal trial on allegations of Libor rate-rigging by large banks will be getting more attention than usual this week as the lead defendant in the case takes the stand. Anthony Allen, a former...
September 18, 2015
Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are held for the first time to be commodities covered by the Commodity Exchange Act
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission released an order Sept. 17 holding that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are commodities and are subject to regulation under the Commodity Exchange Act and...
August 19, 2015
BNY Mellon settlement of FCPA case shows that foreign bribery involves more than cash payouts
Following the Bank of New York Mellon’s settlement with the SEC this week, expect to see more Wall Street banks settle foreign bribery allegations involving the practice of hiring relatives of sovereign...
August 14, 2015
SEC takes action to clean up municipal bond underwriting
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took a major step this week with its efforts to clean up municipal bond underwriting with the announcement of a $20 million settlement with brokerage firm Edward...
May 06, 2015
SEC Chair White strongly endorses whistleblower program
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White gave an important speech about whistleblowers last week, saying the SEC whistleblower program has “proven to be a game changer.” The SEC whistleblower...
November 21, 2014
SEC whistleblower program continues to grow
The Securities and Exchange Commission received a record number of tips under its whistleblower-reward program in fiscal year 2014, with more than 3,600 tips from all 50 states, Washington, DC and Puerto...
October 01, 2013
SEC makes good on promise for large whistleblower reward soon
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced today that it has awarded $14 million to a whistleblower for information and assistance. This is the largest SEC whistleblower reward so far under...
September 27, 2013
JP Morgan settlement criticized
The Securities and Exchange Commission settlement of a case against JPMorgan without charging any top executives, was heavily criticized by Jesse Eisinger, a finance reporter for ProPublica in a New York...
February 05, 2013
Whistleblower attorney finds tone at top of SEC and CFTC encouraging for whistleblowers
The whistleblower programs at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are working “incredibly well,” according to Phillips and Cohen partner Erika Kelton....