Posts Tagged ‘Mary Schapiro’
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 20th, 2010 3:15 PM |
When might a voting process with overwhelming returns be negated by the wishes and desires of the powers that be? Am I speaking of those who may occupy bully pulpits in third world nations? No, that guess would not be close.
Am I referring to political leaders who are protected by military and business minions? Nope, still quite cold.
How about a board that is more affiliated with an organization’s executives than with its members? We are getting warmer.
What about financial regulators and a board who have the reputation of being much more closely aligned with major players within the financial industry than their rank and file members and American investors at large? Bingo!!
Let’s get more specific. A week ago, FINRA’s member firms voted overwhelmingly in favor of seven non-binding proxy proposals put forth by Amerivet Securities. In light of the vote and the overwhelming results, one would have thought that FINRA’s board would have absolutely no choice but to fully address these proposals. To do otherwise, one would think that the FINRA board might run the risk of further alienating its membership while sending a message to the American public at large that transparency and disclosures are virtues this financial regulator speaks of but does not truly practice. (more…)
Tags: Amerivet Securities, bernard madoff, Bernie Madoff, chief executive of keystone capital corp., disclosure and transparency, Elton Johnson, financial regulation, FINRA, FINRA annual meeting, FINRA board, finra membership, finra proxy prpoosals may never see the light of day, FINRA's board, GIM, Greenwich Investment Management, investor confidence and protection, irs, jie cai, John Busacca, Ken Norensberg, Larry Doyle, les greenberg, les greenberg of culver city, lisa roth, Mary Schapiro, nancy Condon, NASD, Richard Greenfield, Sense on Cents, sipa
Posted in FINRA, General | 7 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 11th, 2010 12:20 PM |
Wall Street’s self-regulatory organization, FINRA, holds its annual meeting tomorrow inWashington D.C.. What will we learn? Will FINRA’s member firms vote for a number of non-binding proposals which would shine real light on the inner workings of this organization? America deserves to learn so much more than has ever been revealed about FINRA.
I have shared with many people that I believe the underlying tone of our markets would improve if FINRA were compelled to open its books and records. Why do I so strongly believe that? True transparency inherently breeds investor confidence. I made this very point to Joe Giannone of Reuters just the other day. Regular readers of Sense on Cents are fully aware of my feelings. Joe highlights the topics surrounding FINRA for a wider audience as he writes, FINRA Faces Calls to Lift Veil on Finances, Pay:
Wall Street regulator FINRA, which demands disclosure and openness from brokers, is under pressure to lift the veil on its own affairs.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a private corporation that regulates the nation’s 4,700 brokerages, will learns at its annual meeting on Thursday how many support a dissident’s call for more transparency. (more…)
Tags: Amerivet, Elton Johnson, financial regulatory reform, FINRA Annual meeting 8-12-10, FINRA Bernie Madoff, FINRA Board of Directors, Finra investment portfolio, FINRA proxy, Joe Giannone of reuters, Jonathan Cuneo, Mary Schapiro, nancy Condon, Richard Ketchum, what does Finra do?, what is FINRA's role, who is Elton Johnson, who is Finra
Posted in General | 6 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 5th, 2010 4:22 PM |
Gary Aguirre is a great American.
To those who closely follow the markets, economy, Wall Street, Washington and global finance, Gary Aguirre needs no introduction. For those not aware of how great an American Mr. Aguirre is, let me inform you that he truly distinguished himself as an attorney both while working at the SEC and after he was unceremoniously pushed out of the SEC.
Was Aguirre let go by the SEC because he was another pawn in the Wall Street-Washington incestuous process? NO, anything but! Gary Aguirre flew in the face of the Wall Street-Washington incest and doggedly fought for justice in exposing an insider trading case against Arthur Samberg of Pequot Capital. Even after being pushed out of the SEC, Aguirre continued his pursuit of justice in the Pequot case.
What was the result? (more…)
Tags: Aguirre vs SEC, Art Samberg, FOIA, freedom of information, freedom of information act, GAry Aguirre departure from SEC, Gary Aguirre letter to Chris Dodd, gary Aguirre letter to Chris Dodd and Barney frank, Gary Aguirre's wrongful termination, Gary Aguirre's wrongful tremination, insider trading at Pequot, John Mack and Art Samberg, Mary Schapiro, Microsoft insidre trading, Pequot Capital, who is Gary Aguirre
Posted in General, SEC | 3 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 4th, 2010 7:29 AM |
Washington and Wall Street are skilled at utilizing smoke and mirrors to advance their collective agenda. The simple fact is most of our Washington operatives do not understand basic financial concepts. The reality of the situation is that our supposed leaders are content to remain blind to the realities of finance as long as Wall Street continues sending campaign funds their way.
Fortunately, others in our nation take a more impassioned view of the world and aggressively question where Washington often passes. To this end, I thank a friend who shared the following letter highlighted today at the Project on Government Oversight on our new favorite topic about the lack of transparency at the SEC.
This letter is comprehensive in addressing a number of critically important points. Do you ever wish that we could have representatives from these organizations questioning not only our elected officials, but also our appointed officials such as Mary Schapiro? I wish that all the time. Please take a few minutes to ponder the issues embedded in this letter. Ask yourself whom you really believe are protecting your interests.
August 3, 2010
Senator Christopher Dodd
Chairman
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
534 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510 (more…)
Tags: American Association of Law Libraries, American Library Association, Angela Canterbury, Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd, Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, CREW, Dodd-Frank Act, Essential Information, financial regulation, financial regulatory reform, financial regulatory structure, FOIA, freedom of information act, GAP Government Accountability Project, GIM, Greenwich Investment Management, Investment advisers Act of 1940, Investment Company Act of 1940, Liberty Coalition, Mary Schapiro, OMB Watch, OpenTheGovernment.org, POGO, project on Government Oversight, Public Citizen, rule 9291, SEC, section 9291, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Senator Patrick Leahy, Sense on Cents, Sunlight Foundation, transparency at the SEC, Washington Wall Street incest
Posted in General, SEC | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 1st, 2010 11:41 AM |
Does the SEC believe it needs to restrict the public’s access to information in order to gain the favor of those from whom it is requesting the information in the first place (that is banks, hedge funds, and money managers)? Is ‘looking toward the future’ a convenient line of reasoning when, in fact, the SEC is actually more concerned with skeletons from its past? Which skeletons might these be? Can you say Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford? Is America supposed to take the SEC’s own internal reviews of these frauds as sufficient explanation as to the SEC’s failures on these frauds?
While many in the financial industry have little interest in ever again hearing the name Bernie Madoff, one individual in our nation continues the fight for justice from this massive fraud. To whom do I refer? Helen Davis Chaitman of Becker & Poliakoff.
Some may recall that last November I interviewed Ms. Chaitman, pro bono legal representative for a large number of Madoff investors. She provided riveting insights then and she did not disappoint on a recent interview on Fox Business. Helen is not bashful in highlighting that she plans on suing the SEC for its failings in the Madoff scam.
Is the SEC looking to restrict access to information because of Helen’s pending lawsuit? Let’s listen . . .
Helen is not only speaking up on behalf of Madoff investors, but she is truly standing up on behalf of all American investors. I commend her. No surprize that Helen is a decorated member of the Sense on Cents Hall of Fame!
LD
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Tags: Bernie Madoff, freedom of information request, Helen Davis Chaitman, Helen Davis Chaitman of Becker & Poliakoff, Madoff, Madoff Group for Investors Protection, Madoff investors, Madoff Ponzi scam, Mary Schapiro, SEC, SEC FOIA, SEC Madoff investigation, SEC restricting freedom of information
Posted in General, SEC | 1 Comment »
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 29th, 2010 12:33 PM |
Kudos to Fox Business News for leading the charge within the financial media on the need for real transparency at the SEC. FBN’s Adam Schapiro was just on chatting with Stuart Varney on this very important topic. Listen to Adam, and ponder his comments in light of the Madoff and Stanford travesties that took place literally right under the nose of the SEC. (Clicking on the image will bring you to the Fox Business News website, and the video clip will begin to play automatically.)

Who is the SEC protecting?
LD
Tags: Adam Schapiro, Adam Schapiro intreview with Stuart varney, Fox Business News, freedom of information act, GIM, Greenwich Investment Management, Larry Doyle, Mary Schapiro, SEC and FOIA, SEC regulation regarding freedom of information, Sense on Cents, Wall Street-Washington incest
Posted in General, SEC | 2 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 22nd, 2010 1:15 PM |
One would think the SEC’s settlement with Goldman Sachs was just the break we needed in the logjam to finally get some real truth and transparency into Wall Street business practices. Recall that the Goldman CDO Abacus represented a mere .2 of the total CDO market from 2006-2008.
There must be many more fish in that tank just waiting to get caught by the SEC. American taxpayers deserve nothing less than a full and total accounting and adjudication of the travesty and transgressions embedded in a number of structured transactions on Wall Street. Will we receive that accounting? Is the SEC sending a strong message to those on Wall Street that ‘there’s a new sheriff in town?’ Or is the SEC placating the American public, applying a sizable slap on the wrist to Goldman, and giving Wall Street a wink and a nod indicating that it is ‘business as usual?’ Let’s navigate. (more…)
Tags: Abacus CDO, Adam Pritchard University of Michigan Law School, After Goldman's Concession, business as usual, CDO underwriters, Goldman Sachs SEC, Goldman Sachs settlement, Lloyd Blankfein, Mary Schapiro, New York Times, Regulator May Be Satisfied, Robert Khuzami, SEC
Posted in General, Goldman Sachs, SEC | 4 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 16th, 2010 7:34 AM |
Who’s next?
We can debate all day long whether the settlement of SEC charges against Goldman Sachs for $550 million is fair or not. While that debate will occur all over Wall Street and throughout the world of global finance today, the question regarding the size of this settlement is not important in and of itself. I am not saying that $550 million is not a lot of money. Nor am I saying that Goldman may be getting off easy. The only question I have is, “Who’s next? ”
Are we to think that the Goldman Abacus-CDO transaction is the only ABS-backed CDO that employed improper marketing? Do not be so naive. In fact, if Goldman employed improper marketing in one deal, are we to believe they did not do the same in many others? Do you ever find just one mouse? (more…)
Tags: Abacus settlement, ABS-CDO market, ACA, American Capital Access, Anna Katherine Barnett-Hart honors thesis, Asset backed Alert, do you ever find just one mouse, Fabrice Tourre, Goldman Sachs, Goldman settlement with SEC, Goldman's settlement with SEC, is Goldman settlement with SEC fair, John Paulson, Mary Schapiro, Paulson, Robert Khuzami, SEC settlement with Goldman Sachs, size of ABS-CDO market, Wall Street, Wall Street CDO settlements, who's got next
Posted in General, Goldman Sachs, SEC | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 15th, 2010 9:07 AM |
Any employee in any organization knows that an internal disciplinary double standard is the quickest way to kill morale. Happens all the time, right? Likely even worse in organizations with lots of bureaucracy? Uncle Sam would not know how to operate otherwise, you say? The answers to all those questions may be the affirmative, but that does not make a double standard right nor does it mean that it should be tolerated. Why do I broach this topic?
Our friends at the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) released a report just yesterday highlighting the pathetic disciplinary measures and massive double standard at the SEC in responding to recommendations from its own Office of Inspector General (OIG). POGO reports:
….this is not the first time the SEC has refused to follow an OIG recommendation for disciplinary action. (more…)
Tags: a new SEC, accountability at SEC, Darrell Issa, David Kotz, FOIA, FWRO, investigation by POGO, Mary Schapiro, POGO, project on Government Oversight, SEC inmates running the asylum, SEC internal affairs, SEC lack of disciplinary actions, SEC OCIE, SEC OIG
Posted in General, SEC | 21 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 2nd, 2010 1:20 PM |
Has America lost the courage to aggressively address those who commit fraud? Is the American public even aware of the massive fraud perpetrated by those in our financial system which led to our current economic crisis? Are those in Washington willing to take a stand, risk their own skins, call out those engaged in fraud, even if some of the fraudsters occupy neighboring seats at nearby regulatory bodies?
Unless we find people in our government who are willing to make these calls, repeat them publicly in a long, loud fashion, and compel prosecutors to issue indictments, then I fear our union will pay a price and incur a cost that may be immeasurable.
Why so strong? Why so strident? (more…)
Tags: addressing fraud, AIG, Arlen Specter, Barack Obama, Ben Bernanke, bill thomas, Brooksley Born, caveat emptor, CDS, Charles Keating, Conspiracy of Fools, control frauds, Dick Cheney, economic theory, efficient market hypothesis r, Enron scandal, Fannie Mae, FCIC, Financial crisis inquiry commission, financial frauds, fraud in our economy, frauds, Freddie Mac, George Akerlof, George W. Bush, Goldman Sachs, Hank Paulson, heather murren, how to address fraud, IBG YBG, indict fraudsters, investigating fraud, James Stewart's Den of Thieves, Joe Biden, John K. Galbraith, John Paulson, Kurt Eichenwald, Levy Economics Institute, liar loans, Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. chair in Government Business Relations, market discipline, Mary Schapiro, Nelson's Eye, neutron loans, ninja loans, Paul Romer, Peter Fisher, phil angelides, rational expectations, Representative Doggett, Robert Johnson, Savings and loan fraud, SEC, speculation, systemic fraud, Thomas Ferguson, Tim Geithner, University of Texas, Wall Street, Washington, William K. Black
Posted in General | 4 Comments »