Recent speeches by SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar and SEC Division of Enforcement Co-Directors Stephanie Avakian and Steven Peikin indicate that the era of the “broken windows” approach, where relatively minor compliance infractions were broadly and aggressively policed and often punished in order to deter potentially larger violations, may be coming to an end…. via Closing the Door on “Broken Windows”…
Now, under the direction of Mr. Clayton, and with its budget essentially frozen, the SEC is cueing that “broken windows” won’t continue. “It may be the case that we have to be selective and bring a few cases to send a broader message rather than sweep the entire field,” Mr. Peikin told a securities conference Thursday. He said the enforcement…
With SEC Chair Mary Jo White’s announcement that she will step down at the same time President Barack Obama leaves office in January, there has been much speculation about whether Chair White’s policy of pursuing minor, “broken windows” type violations will be turfed out. via Will Trump SEC End ‘Broken Windows’ Cases Against Advisors and Brokers? — ThinkAdvisor
In October 2013, Mary Jo White, the Securities and Exchange Commission chairwoman, spoke at the Securities Enforcement Forum about a new approach based on the “broken windows” theory of enforcement in which the police pursue minor infractions to send a message about compliance with the law. “We are looking for the ‘broken windows’ in our markets,” she said, “and not…
Almost exactly one year after SEC Chair Mary Jo White’s “Broken Windows” speech, SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar took issue with that strategy in a speech of his own, stating that “if every rule is a priority, then no rule is a priority.” via SEC’s Piwowar: ‘If Every Rule is a Priority, Then No Rule is a Priority’ | Compliance Week
In a speech at the annual Securities Enforcement Forum, SEC Republican Commissioner Mike Piwowar took aim at SEC Chair Mary Jo White’s approach, based on the theory used by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani that fixing broken windows and minor violations helps to deter serious crimes. “A broken windows approach to enforcement may not achieve the desired result,”…
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Enforcement Division head Andrew Ceresney on Tuesday defended the agency’s “broken windows” policy of cracking down on minor violations during a panel discussion with five former directors of the division, who argued the agency is being too harsh. via SEC Enforcement Leaders Debate Broken-Windows Policy | Legal Times
The SEC this week announced a mass action against 34 defendants for alleged violations of federal securities laws regarding reporting of stock holdings. As the Wall Street Journal reported, the action “is part of the ‘broken windows’ strategy” – i.e., where “even the smallest infractions” are pursued – announced by SEC Chairman Mary Jo White in 2013. While that is…
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday that it had charged 34 people and companies for failing to file timely disclosures about their dealings in company stock. Nearly all the cases settled for fines of up to $150,000. While the SEC says these charges represent important violations on their own, they’re also part of a larger “broken windows” strategy of…
Andrew Ceresney, the SEC’s head of enforcement, on Wednesday charged 34 people and companies a total of $2.6 million for generally low-level violations — like failing to timely file stock ownership forms. The actions are the latest in the agency’s “broken windows” approach to policing the markets — that is, enforcing even the most basic regulations in hopes of keeping…