SEC Chair Gary Gensler wants to breathe new life into the fight against cyberattacks and is calling for a refresh of Regulation Systems Compliance and Integrity (Reg SCI) that might mean new cybersecurity hygiene and incident reporting rules for investment companies, investment advisers, and broker-dealers. During his speech for the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s… Read More >>
Wall Street’s New Cop Jolts Enforcement
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports that it filed 434 new enforcement actions in fiscal year 2021. The SEC’s whistleblower program was “critical to these efforts and had a record-breaking year,” a commission statement notes. FY 2021 “marked the highest number of awards to both the number of individuals and in dollar amounts awarded,”… Read More >>
Justice Department, SEC Focus on Stopping Crypto Crime
Two powerful extensions of the U.S. federal government – the Department of Justice and the SEC – are gearing up to counter the fraud, scams, and abuse that are the dark side of cryptocurrencies and emerging digital assets. Lisa O. Monaco, deputy Attorney General for Justice, launched the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) this week… Read More >>
Gensler Wants Proof That Firms Are Going Green
In the future, funds with a green sales pitch will need to prove that they understand and appreciate the importance of an ESG agenda. In other words, that it’s more than just a good story to con a customer to sign on the bottom line. “ESG” stands for environmental, social, and corporate governance, and it… Read More >>
SIFMA, ICI, DTCC Seek SEC’s Help with T+1
The major backers of the move to shorten the U.S. securities industry settlement cycle from T+2 to T+1 by 2023 are moving full speed ahead as they reach out via a letter to the SEC about potential regulatory changes. Officials from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the Investment Company Institute (ICI), and… Read More >>
Crypto Regs Are on SEC Chair’s Radar
SEC Chair Gary Gensler says that the regulator must consider ways to protect investors vulnerable to the “Wild West” of cryptocurrencies, the trading and custody for crypto-based instruments, and the tokenization bandwagon. In remarks at the Aspen Security Forum on Aug. 3, Gensler noted that “the crypto asset class has ballooned. As of Monday [Aug…. Read More >>
Gary Gensler’s SEC Takes Shape
As expected, SEC Chair Gary Gensler is taking the regulatory agency in a different direction than the most recent chairman Jay Clayton. Recent actions are pointing to a more activist environment and a new era of rulemaking. For starters, Gensler recently announced his policy team, which will be led by Heather Slavkin Corzo, policy director…. Read More >>
Crypto Undermines SEC’s Mission: Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Sen. Warren Urges SEC to Consider Crypto Regs Wall Street critic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is asking Gary Gensler, the chair of the SEC, via a recent letter, to investigate the ways that cryptocurrency exchanges “may be undermining the SEC’s mission” as a regulator of securities trading markets. The letter from Warren, who is… Read More >>
Gensler Launches PCAOB Shake-up by Ousting Chairman
SEC Chair Gary Gensler startled the U.S. securities industry last week when he ousted William D. Duhnke III from his chairmanship of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), and then began a board overhaul. The overhaul may have been in response to concerns raised by former members of the PCAOB’s Investor Advisory Group (IAG)…. Read More >>
Should the SEC Become a Crypto Cop?
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may be taking on more oversight of the cryptocurrency trading world as there are many troubling regulatory gaps, says SEC Chair Gary Gensler in testimony May 26 before the subcommittee on financial services and general government, which is part of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee. In testimony that covered… Read More >>