January 2012 | The Securities Edge

S.E.C. Takes a Harder Line on Admissions of Guilt

By Gregory K. Bader on January 20th, 2012 Posted in SEC Enforcement

Earlier this month, the S.E.C. changed its long standing practice of allowing defendants of securities violations to “neither admit nor deny” criminal wrongdoing. This change is effectively the S.E.C.’s response to critics that say that the agency should not let criminal defendants simply pay a fine and avoid an admission of guilty. The new policy… Continue Reading

New Cybersecurity Disclosure Obligations for SEC Filings

By Robert C. White Jr. on January 11th, 2012 Posted in Disclosure Guidance, Technology Company Issues

Risks of Cyber Attacks If you are an executive for a public company, new SEC guidance requires you to consider cybersecurity in your ongoing periodic reports. As evidenced by the barrage of news reports over the past couple of years, cyber incidents have become very significant events for all types of companies. A recent example… Continue Reading

Disclosure Guidance for European Debt Exposure

By David C. Scileppi on January 10th, 2012 Posted in Disclosure Guidance, Financial Institutions

Last Friday, the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance issued its fourth topic in its CF Disclosure Series, which periodically provides the SEC’s views on various topics. This time, the SEC addressed, what it believes to be, inconsistent disclosures on European sovereign debt holdings. The SEC reminds registrants, particularly bank holding companies, of their obligations to… Continue Reading