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HomeFINRA Immunity Without Transparency Is “A License to Steal”
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 2nd, 2010 10:40 AM |
Judge Jed Rakoff’s ruling to dismiss the complaint by Standard Investment Chartered v FINRA based on the regulator having absolute immunity generated a consistent response from readers and colleagues. What is the theme of that response?
A comment by Bill, a loyal Sense on Cents reader, seems to sum it up best:
Interesting that FINRA has the benefit of a quasi governmental entity, i. e. immunity, but not the customary burden of a governmental entity–transparency. Otherwise known as a license to steal. (more…)
WSJ Hits Mary Schapiro Hard on ‘Say on Pay’ but That’s Only Tip of the Iceberg
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 20th, 2010 11:58 AM |
The target on SEC Chair Mary Schapiro’s back is getting larger and gaining more focus. How so?
The lead editorial in this weekend’s edition of The Wall Street Journal goes after Schapiro hard in writing, Mary Schapiro’s Say on Pay. While the editorial leads with the ongoing battle Schapiro and the SEC are having with Bank of America’s lack of disclosure during its merger with Merrill Lynch, the Journal quickly turns the tables on Ms. Schapiro and addresses the lack of disclosure at Ms. Schapiro’s former haunt, FINRA.
Come to papa.
Regular readers of Sense on Cents are well aware of how consistently and steadily I have been banging this FINRA drum. It is long past due that America is truly introduced to Wall Street’s self-regulatory organization, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). (more…)
Judge Rakoff Orders FINRA Documents to Remain Sealed
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 17th, 2010 9:26 AM |
Nobody ever said it was going to be easy.
The pursuit of truth, transparency, and ultimate integrity in our financial regulatory system can only be equated to a 15 round heavyweight fight. Yesterday, the sting of opposing blows landed hard upon our face as Judge Jed Rakoff ordered FINRA documents relating to the very formation of this Wall Street self-regulatory organization to remain sealed.
Recall that the request to unseal these documents was made by attorneys representing Dow Jones, Bloomberg, and The New York Times. From the blogosphere, Sense on Cents also wrote to Judge Rakoff requesting that he order these documents to be unsealed. The information embodied in the documents addresses an allegation made by attorneys representing a plaintiff, Standard Investment Chartered, in a lawsuit filed against FINRA. The crux of that lawsuit is that then FINRA head (and current SEC Chair) Mary Schapiro and her fellow FINRA executives lied verbally during roadshows and in writing via the proxy statement issued for the merger of the NASD and NYSE Regulation to form FINRA. (more…)
Mary Schapiro and Mark McGwire
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 15th, 2010 10:22 AM |
“I’m not here to talk about the past.”
Mark McGwire, the steroid abusing home run hitting phoney, may have issued a massive mea culpa this week, but his career will forever be defined by his March 2005 Congressional obfuscation.
In my strong opinion, Mary Schapiro is the financial industry’s equivalent of Mark McGwire. How so? In McGwire’s 2005 testimony, he very much wanted to position himself as a positive influence for future developments regarding the use and abuse of steroids in baseball. Fast forward to January 14, 2010 and we witness Mary Schapiro very much trying to assume the same positive position in her testimony and answers to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. In Schapiro’s opening statement, Testimony Concerning the Financial Crisis, she states as much:
To assist the Commission in its efforts, my testimony will outline many of the lessons we have learned in our role as a securities and market regulator, how we are working to address them, and where additional efforts are needed. I look forward to working with the FCIC to identify the many causes of this crisis.
Oh, how kind. (more…)
Let’s Introduce the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to FINRA
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 14th, 2010 11:10 AM |
This morning the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission is questioning FDIC Head Sheila Bair, SEC Chair Mary Schapiro, Attorney General Eric Holder, and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer. We continue to hear from Bair, Schapiro, Holder, and Breuer about what changes are and will be occurring in the financial regulatory future more than we hear about what occurred in the past. A few questions about the regulatory past have not truly drilled down and they’ve been easily parried by Schapiro, primarily, but also by Bair and Holder.
The most egregious shortcoming in this morning’s questioning, though, is the fact that I have yet to hear anybody on the Commission question Ms. Schapiro about her role and responsibilities at FINRA, the Wall Street self-regulatory organization.
Schapiro continually references what is currently going on at the SEC. Current activities and future developments of the SEC are not the charge of this Commission. (more…)
Can Mary Schapiro be in Two Places at Once?
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 14th, 2010 9:24 AM |
Mary Schapiro is going to be very busy today. How so?
Her presence will very much be a factor in two venues which are holding public hearings. What venues? What hearings? What will the public learn from and about Ms. Schapiro today?
Most eyes will be on Washington where Ms. Schapiro, the current SEC Chair, will be a witness in the second day of hearings of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. The Commission is charged with unearthing the truth in the factors that led to our economic crisis. Should we expect any grand mea culpas from Ms. Schapiro in front of the Commission? I think not.
Ms. Schapiro and her former FINRA colleagues have proven to be artful dodgers when it comes to skirting the tough questions. Avoiding tough questions is not difficult when the questions themselves are softballs offered by her incestuous partners in Washington. When did we first witness this reality? A year ago tomorrow. (more…)
Will America Learn This Thursday if Mary Schapiro is a Liar?
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 12th, 2010 12:20 PM |
Head of SEC, Mary Schapiro
January 14, 2010 at 4pm
U.S. Distict Court for the Southern District of N.Y.
Presiding Justice, Jed Rakoff
Will America learn this Thursday afternoon if SEC Chair Mary Schapiro did in fact lie verbally and in a proxy statement regarding the merger of the NASD with NYSE Regulation to form FINRA?
As I highlighted in my commentary yesterday, “The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Should Investigate…”, I believe FINRA and Mary Schapiro are truly the embodiment of the Wall Street-Washington cabal that stifles the truth, transparency, and integrity America so badly deserves.
For more details on this case and the upcoming hearing, I submit the following press release that came out this morning:
MAJOR NEWS ORGANIZATIONS ASK WALL STREET SELF-REGULATOR TO COME CLEAN ON ALLEGED WRONGDOING AND URGE FEDERAL JUDGE TO UNSEAL KEY REDACTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION IN BROKERS’LAWSUIT AGAINST FINRA.Mary Schapiro and other NASD Managers Allegedly Lied to and Shortchanged NASD Member Broker-Dealers in 2006 Merger with NYSE and otherwise Violated Their Fiduciary Responsibilities. (more...)
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Should Investigate…
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 11th, 2010 9:28 AM |
Will America ever truly learn what happened on Wall Street that brought our markets, our economy, and our country to its knees?
We should not expect the incestuous Wall Street-Washington partners to implicate themselves and thoroughly expose their shortcomings. A full 16 months since the failure of Lehman Bros. and how much have we truly learned? What change has really occurred? Who has been fired in Washington? Who has been indicted on Wall Street? Will the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, charged with investigating the factors which facilitated our economic disaster, truly be effective?
The truth may hurt but if the hard questions are not asked, the failings are not exposed, and those responsible are not held to account, then the lessons will not be learned, and the experience will likely repeat itself.
Will the commission pretend to investigate, but ultimately wilt under the pressure of the incestuous pillars of power? Will the commission rise above the fray, hold people and institutions to account, and make our country proud? Will the commission use its power to subpoena, if need be?
Whom should the commission pursue? What agencies and institutions should the commission target? If I were on the commission, I would recommend pursuing the following targets: (more…)
Mary Schapiro Owes America Some Answers
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 21st, 2009 8:47 AM |
Who is willing to ask the hard questions? Who is willing to call people out? Who is willing to fly in the face of the Wall Street-Washington incest? Regrettably, very few journalists and media outlets have the character and courage to truly serve the American public interest. Who is not lacking in the courage and character department? Bloomberg’s Susan Antilla.
Time and again, Antilla takes on Wall Street and the financial regulators. In my opinion, her finest piece of work comes out this morning. Susan Antilla writes, Hot Seat for SEC Chief Schapiro Won’t Cool Off:
The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission has a past that is fast coming back to haunt her.
Mary Schapiro’s story has none of the lurid details of philandering celebrity golfers or hedge fund titans who get sued by ex-wives for concealing marital money.
Her history and two pending lawsuits, though, raise an important question for investors: Is the woman who oversees the U.S. financial markets someone willing to fudge the facts to get things done?
If what I heard in federal Judge Jed Rakoff’s New York courtroom last week is even close to accurate, I’d say that it’s time for some serious conversations as to whether Schapiro is the person we should entrust to the top SEC job.
I totally concur. Mary Schapiro, the current SEC Chair and formerly the head of FINRA, possesses a wealth of information on a number of topics for which America would like greater detail. What are some of these topics? (more…)
Harry Markopolos: “Don’t Trust Your Government”
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 1st, 2010 10:38 AM |
Harry Markopolos
In an interview on the Today show this morning (video clip after the fold), Harry Markopolos dropped a few bombshells. Harry’s statement that he had purchased a gun and mentally prepared himself to kill Bernie Madoff in self-defense if need be will likely grab the most attention. It shouldn’t.
Markopolos’ biggest bombshell this morning is his warning to America, “don’t trust your government.” No surprise that Today host Matt Lauer did not probe deeper. I am not confident that other outlets will delve deeper into Harry’s statement, either. I wonder why Harry himself is reticent to specifically point out the individuals and the instances which lead him to make that statement.
Recall that a year ago Harry defined the SEC as merely incompetent while simultaneously defining FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) as ‘in bed with the industry’ that is Wall Street. Well, it does not take an advanced degree to connect Harry’s grenade toss into FINRA’s backyard a year ago with his volley this morning. (more…)
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Posted in Bernie Madoff, FINRA, General, Harry Markopolos, Madoff, Mary Schapiro, SEC, regulation | 16 Comments »