Sense on Cents

Calls for increased transparency from Wall Street’s self-regulatory organization FINRA continue to mount. How so?

None other than Bloomberg joins the ranks of Barrons, The New York Times, and Sense on Cents in calling on the courts to compel FINRA to release unredacted documents relating to the merger of the NASD with NYSE Regulation. That merger formed FINRA.

As I have highlighted previously, the core of a complaint filed on behalf of Standard Investment Chartered alleges that FINRA and assorted defendants, including current SEC head Mary Schapiro, misrepresented orally and in writing the financial terms involved in this merger. More specifically, the complaint alleges that FINRA and defendants lied in their representation of what the IRS would allow in terms of financial remuneration to FINRA member firms.

FINRA and the assorted defendants would obviously prefer to keep that information in the dark. As word of this complaint is getting out into the public domain, more and more financial periodicals and respected media outlets are calling for the release of the information critical to determine if the defendants lied. To wit, Bloomberg requests of the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York, Case 1:07-cv-02014-JSR-DCF Document 192 Filed 11/06/2009 Page 1 of 3:

Non-Party Bloomberg L.P. (“Bloomberg”) hereby moves pursuant to Rule 24(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to intervene in these proceedings for the limited purpose of seeking access to sealed or redacted documents filed with this Court. In support of its motion, Bloomberg adopts the arguments made in the Memorandum of Law in Support of News
Organizations’ Application to Modify Protective Order, filed on behalf of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and New York Times Company in the above-captioned action on November 6, 2009. For the reasons set forth in that memorandum, Bloomberg respectfully requests that this Court grant its motion to intervene and unseal, and grant such other and further relief as is just and proper.

I can only hope that Judge Jed Rakoff, the presiding judge in this case, orders FINRA to release the unredacted documents so that the American public can find out whether FINRA and the defendants lied orally and in writing the proxy statement related to this merger.

Where are The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, and every other self-respecting journal and business periodical in calling on FINRA to provide true and total transparency on this critically important case?

LD

Related Sense on Cents Commentary:

Barrons, New York Times, and Sense on Cents All request Transparency From FINRA (October 23, 2009)

Nasdaq Sale: Why Would Schapiro and FINRA Execs Lie? (October 22, 2009)

Attorney Richard Greenfield Brands Mary Schapiro and FINRA Execs as “Liars” (October 19, 2009)

This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 12:26 PM and is filed under FINRA, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.