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HomeObama’s Failure to Reform Wall Street: SEC No Evil Recommended
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 26th, 2012 5:51 AM |
While listening to the upcoming Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates and you hear selected politicians make the case that they have reformed Wall Street, I recommend you get yourself a barf bag and think of the story I share with you today.
I introduced readers of this blog to whistleblower and former JP Morgan Chase compliance officer Peter Sivere in early 2010. For those unaware, Mr. Sivere had his identity revealed — that is, his confidence was violated — by an SEC attorney while in the process of blowing the whistle in an after hours trading case ongoing at JP Morgan.
Going on three years later Sivere and America still wait for the SEC to make proper amends in his case. Why is that fact and this case so important? (more…)
Will “Fix” Remain In at SEC After Schapiro?
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 19th, 2012 4:31 AM |
Reports circulating that Mary Schapiro will step down from her post at the SEC pending an Obama re-election are increasing. Unless Ms. Schapiro is relinquishing her throne in preemptive fashion I do not know why this story is even getting legs. It is certainly not uncommon for significant turnover within a President’s cabinet after the completion of a first term.
I sincerely hope that she is not in ill health but that concern is raised in a story in the New York Post, SEC You Later, Pal: Schapiro May Be Heading for The Exit,
Chatter surrounding Schapiro’s status at the regulatory agency has reached a crescendo in the past few days as an undisclosed medical procedure has resulted in her taking a leave of absence — set to end tomorrow.
An SEC official told The Post that Schapiro has been on medical leave since last Thursday and has been working from home as she recovers. (more…)
Won’t Have Mary Schapiro To Kick Around Anymore
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 10th, 2012 9:09 PM |
Sense on Cents first crossed paths with current SEC chair and former FINRA head Mary Schapiro in mid-January 2009.
I have often thought Ms. Schapiro – more than any other single individual – knows where more of the bones are buried on Wall Street and throughout the incestuous Wall Street – Washington circle of influence and intrigue. I have tried to be fair but aggressive in questioning Mary’s lack of transparency on so many fronts.
Well readers, if reports circulating around Washington have a measure of truth to them, we will likely not have Mary to kick around all that much longer. (more…)
SEC Outside Investigator Should Also Look Into. . . Recommended
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 8th, 2012 9:59 AM |
Perhaps it is only fitting that my 2000th post since launching Sense on Cents in January 2009 is directed at issues within our nation’s top financial cops at the SEC.
How interesting that a report is released today indicating that the SEC is bringing in an outside investigator to probe allegations of inappropriate activities within the Office of Inspector General during the tenure of the recently departed IG David Kotz. (more…)
Who’s Minding the Store at the SEC?
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 1st, 2012 6:33 AM |
The folks at the SEC could not possibly still be tuning in to porn, could they?
Do you think that any SEC lawyers are once again blowing the cover of whistleblowers?
Would we know if the SEC is complying with the Freedom of Information Act?
While many in Washington and America might think these issues begin and end at the desk of the SEC chair, Mary Schapiro, the simple fact is the real oversight of this organization falls under the purview of the SEC’s Inspector General. Really? Oh yeah!! How so? (more…)
The SEC vs Whistleblowers: Round 2
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 26th, 2012 8:28 AM |
Yesterday’s story regarding the SEC inadvertently, or not, blowing the cover of a whistleblower generated a lot of interest here at Sense on Cents and elsewhere. So much interest, in fact, that parties in both camps, the SEC and the whistleblower, got right back in the ring to make their case.
While I have my own strongly held beliefs, stated yesterday, as to the real driving force within SEC Enforcement, fairness dictates that I highlight competing views as well. On that note, what does the director of the New York Office of the SEC have to say on this matter? Let’s review a letter to the editor in today’s WSJ: (more…)
Did Mary Schapiro Engage in a Fraud?
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 3rd, 2012 10:22 AM |
Will we learn in 2012 if Mary Schapiro, current chair of the SEC, and other then senior executives at the Wall Street self-regulatory organization, FINRA, engaged in a fraud?
The case addressing this question, Standard Chartered v FINRA, has been appealed to the highest court in our land.
As such, one might think that most Americans would care to learn if our nation’s top financial regulator did, in fact, engage in a fraud which had a monetary value of between $175-$350 MILLION plus. That’s right, $175-350 million plus!! Not exactly chicken feed.
Why hasn’t this case received more attention? (more…)
SEC and FINRA “Accountability Is Impossible Without Transparency”
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 17th, 2011 6:46 AM |
“Good corporate governance is a system in which those who manage a company — that is, officers and directors — are effectively held accountable for their decisions and performance. But accountability is impossible without transparency.”
Truer words were never spoken. The above statement very succinctly highlights a cornerstone principle of Sense on Cents. Whomever issued this proclamation would certainly seem to be a strong candidate for the Sense on Cents Hall of Fame. Regrettably not.
Our current SEC chair Mary Schapiro offered those pearls of wisdom in December 2009 and the Washington Post concluded its commentary SEC Tightens Rules On Investment Advisers, Corporate Transparency with that quote from Ms. Schapiro. If only Mary would practice what she preached. (more…)
A Chance to Expose the Wall Street-Washington Incest
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 7th, 2011 6:55 AM |
Truth, transparency, and integrity.
The compromising of these virtues may be the cost of doing business in our nation but make no mistake the price we collectively pay is enormous. Whether in Washington or on Wall Street, the ability to compromise our prized virtues has truly been raised to an art form.
From derivative transactions which disguise unprecedented levels of risk to bond indentures which require advanced legal degrees to interpret, our ‘friends’ on Wall Street with assistance from ‘their’ friends in Washington have displayed little regard for the aforementioned virtues which are the foundation for real ‘sense on cents’.
More often than not,though,the violation of our virtues is viewed in an impersonal light. Wall Street and Washington are behemoths. The American public and investors at large are faceless. In my opinion, our financial services industry and government would just as soon keep it this way.
Let’s challenge them. (more…)
POGO: “Reports the SEC Doesn’t Want You to See”
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 24th, 2011 10:52 PM |
The Project on Government Oversight has become the financial regulatory eyes and ears for our nation. While one would think Congress might care to thoroughly investigate government agencies and hold them to account, our recent history has shown us that the Congressional oversight is severely lacking. Enter POGO. What has POGO provided us now?
By utilizing the Freedom of Information Act, POGO has provided a huge window of transparency into the SEC. Why should POGO have to perform these acts? Where is the Congressional oversight? Heck, where is the SEC chair Mary Schapiro?
I strongly encourage readers to save this commentary as POGO provides links to a wealth of amazing stories and investigations. THANK YOU POGO for performing a national public service in opening the windows into the SEC. (more…)
