12/12/2014
SEC chief not pleased over insider trading decision
Securities and Exchange Commission chief Mary Jo White is none too pleased about Wednesday’s landmark federal appeals court ruling that overturned two insider trading convictions.
Legal, Regulation & Compliance
12/12/2014
New York Department of Financial Services Cyber Security Examination
The NYDFS issuance is just the most recent example of the increasing focus among state and federal regulatory agencies and government officials regarding cyber security and its importance to the financial services industry.
12/11/2014
SEC charges advisory firm with fraud for $12mn risky hedge fund investment to retirees
Hedge Fund’s Portfolio Manager Agrees to Settle Charges
12/11/2014
Taxing New Rules Make Hiding Cash Harder
More paperwork as governments force wealthy to declare overseas assets.
12/11/2014
JPMorgan Chase Says It Hopes to Meet New Capital Rules With No Major Changes
Banks can raise capital either by selling new stock to shareholders or retaining profits.
12/11/2014
New York banking regulator probing Barclays, Deutsche Bank's FX algorithm
The New York banking regulator is investigating if Deutsche Bank and Barclays Plc used algorithms on their trading platforms to manipulate foreign exchange rates,
12/11/2014
Withers Regulatory Watch News - December 2014
Welcome to the December issue of Withers' Regulatory Watch.
12/11/2014
FINRA Fines 10 Firms a Total of $43.5 Million for Allowing Equity Research Analysts to Solicit Investment Banking Business and for Offering Favorable Research Coverage
FINRA's research analyst conflict of interest rules make clear that firms may not use research analysts or the promise of offering favorable research to win investment banking business
12/10/2014
Feds Seek $190M From Deutsche Bank For Alleged Tax Dodge
Federal prosecutors on Monday sued Deutsche Bank AG, seeking $190 million from the German bank for allegedly engaging in a tax evasion scheme by setting up shell companies to hide profits on the appreciation of stock that the bank purchased in 1999.
12/10/2014
SEC Orders 3 Ex-LPL Advisors to Pay More Than $1.5M
What's unclear is whether Concord's founders also hid this practice from LPL Financial
12/10/2014
Bill Calls for Moratorium on Bitcoin Regulation
A bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives which seeks a five year moratorium on statutory restrictions or regulations on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
12/10/2014
Penningtons Manches Opens In San Francisco
This builds upon the firm's considerable network of clients and contacts in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
12/10/2014
Indian Fund Manager Asked to Pay USD 390K Settle Charges
Shah was at the time a portfolio manager at an asset management firm that managed billions of dollars in mutual funds and a hedge fund.
12/10/2014
SEC sanctions foreign bank for failure to register - Withers
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a cease and desist order and has imposed remedial sanctions upon a foreign bank which failed to register as a broker-dealer or as an investment adviser.
12/09/2014
Operator of Bitcoin Stock Exchange Penalized By the SEC
The SEC’s order further finds that Burnside and BTC Trading Corp. failed to register the LTC-Global exchange
12/09/2014
SEC Sanctions Eight Audit Firms for Violating Auditor Independence Rules
The firms, which consented to the orders without admitting or denying the findings, will collectively pay $140,000 in penalties and must comply with a series of remedial undertakings designed to prevent future violations of these independence requirements
12/09/2014
Bad news for Bernie Madoff victims
Court limits effort to access some profits
12/09/2014
Citibank Sued in Abu Dhabi; Accused of Self-Dealing, Defrauding Investors, and Hiding Losses
Citibank was sued by investor Dr. Sami Abbas Hussein Ali before the Abu Dhabi Commercial Court of First Instance on 08/12/2014.
12/05/2014
Bank of America Corp Waiver Appraised By SEC Member, Calls It “Breakthrough”
The regulatory waiver given to the largest bank of the U.S., Bank of America Corp, has been praised by another Securities and Exchange Commission member who called it a “breakthrough” in commission’s methods to handle waivers.
12/05/2014
Barclays Hid Traders’ Role After Questions: Schneiderman
Barclays Plc asked that a federal judge in New York handle claims it hid the role of high-frequency traders in its dark pool, saying the evidence in the case is “incredibly complex” and includes millions of trading records.