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A new guidance document from the Securities and Exchange Commission may cause some companies to rethink their approach when disclosing cybersecurity risks. The SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance issued the guidance document, which is not a new regulation, to offer guidance on how existing disclosure obligations apply to cybersecurity risks. Since many companies are relying [...]
Continue reading...Four bills that reduce regulatory red tape and could make it easier for small businesses to raise capital have passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and are waiting in the Senate for approval. Two of those bills deal specifically with fundraising. House members proposing these bills said less regulatory restriction and better access to [...]
Continue reading...The Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) new proxy access rule 14a-11 is “arbitrary and capricious” and thus invalidated the rule. The DC Circuit Courts decided in Business Roundtable v. SEC that the SEC’s rule had unsupported assertions and arguments. The SEC proxy access rule states that [...]
Continue reading...The United States Securities and Exchange Commission recently updated its whistleblower program to provide monetary incentives to employees who report misconduct within their companies directly to the government. The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed last July, required the SEC to pay 10 to 30 percent of any monetary sanctions over $1 [...]
Continue reading...On May 16, 2011, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) launched the FINRA Disciplinary Actions Online database, a new free database system that makes its disciplinary actions available to the public via its website. The database allows users to search for FINRA actions by several criteria, including case number, document text, document type, action date, and [...]
Continue reading...A tax incentive associated with qualified small business stock (QSBS) was extended for 12 more months as stipulated in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 signed by President Barack Obama into law on Dec. 17. The act contains a temporary exclusion for 100 percent of the gain accepted by [...]
Continue reading...In two separate incidents, FINRA recently punished two firms for reneging compensation from their employees. Arbitration found that both Barclays and Merrill Lynch had unfairly decided not to pay employees in the midst of recent mergers and collapses. Barclays was forced to pay one investment banker $715,000, plus a 4 percent interest change and trial [...]
Continue reading...Experts believe that disputes over U-5 termination forms will increase due to a new set of FINRA directives. FINRA’s Regulatory Notice 10-39 warns member firms to be more detailed when completing U-5 forms after firing employees. The notice focuses on a section of the form that asks why an employee is being fired and says [...]
Continue reading...The U.S. Congress has greatly expanded incentives for whistle-blowers in the financial industry by creating a $451 million fund for reward payments. Prior to the new plan, regulators decided how much to pay insiders for evidence of wrongdoing, which led to only $160,000 in payouts over the last two decades. Despite this, over 90 percent [...]
Continue reading...On Tuesday, January 25, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued a release announcing the proposed new language of the net worth standard for “accredited investors” under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”). The proposed amendments will align the standards for determining whether an investor is an “accredited investor” under the [...]
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