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SEC Approves FINRA Rule Change to Publicly Release Additional Disciplinary Action Information
On June 21, the SEC approved a change to FINRA’s rules that will allow the self-regulatory organization to publish greater information about FINRA’s disciplinary actions. Under existing rules, FINRA only releases disciplinary actions upon request, unless the action meets specified criteria established for use in determining whether an action is worthy of publication. Once the new rules take effect – likely several months from now – those publication criteria will be removed, and most FINRA disciplinary actions will be released as a matter of course. FINRA will retain authority to redact information to protect privacy of individuals. The new rules also update and codify FINRA’s practices related to the publication of other FINRA actions, including temporary cease and desist orders, statutory disqualification decisions, expedited proceeding decisions, summary actions, and others.
SEC Plans to Alter Policy on Seeking Admissions
On June 18, numerous media outlets reported that SEC Chair Mary Jo White indicated that the SEC will shift its policy toward extracting admissions from parties facing allegations of wrongdoing as a condition of resolving those allegations. While a majority of cases likely still will be settled under the current “neither admit nor deny” rubric, the SEC will seek admissions in cases that meet certain criteria, which likely will include “widespread harm to investors.” The shift would extend a policy adopted last year by then-SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami to no longer allow defendants who are convicted of or admit guilt with regard to criminal charges to neither admit nor deny the parallel civil liability. The SEC now may seek an admission even where there is no criminal finding or admission. This change follows increasing pressure from members of Congress on federal regulators and law enforcement authorities to more vigorously pursue allegations of wrongdoing by financial institutions, including, most recently, an inquiry by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) as to whether the SEC and other agencies have conducted any internal research or analysis on trade-offs to the public between settling an enforcement action without admission of guilt and going forward with litigation to obtain a judicial finding of unlawful conduct.
SEC Chairman Names Chief Counsel
On June 3, the SEC Chairman Mary Jo White appointed Robert E. Rice as Chief Counsel. Mr. Rice previously served as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. Most recently he was head of governance, litigation, and regulation for the Americas, and the global co-head of the governance, litigation, and regulation operating committee for an international financial institution.
President Obama Nominates Two Senate Staff Members as SEC Commissioners
On May 23, President Obama nominated Michael Piwowar and Kara Stein to be members of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Both nominees currently serve as staff members in the U.S. Senate. Mr. Piwowar is a chief economist for the Senate Banking Committee’s Republicans. He would replace Troy Paredes, whose term is expiring, for a full five-year term set to end on June 5, 2018. Ms. Stein is senior aide to Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and would replace Elisse Walter, whose term has already expired, for a term that would expire on June 5, 2017.
Freddie Mac Announces Start of Modified Loans Securitization
On May 23, Freddie Mac announced that it has begun securitizing certain loans that were modified for borrowers at risk of foreclosure. The announcement explains that (i) to be eligible for securitization, loans must be current for at least six consecutive months, (ii) the modified loans are pooled into new Freddie Mac Fixed-Rate Modified Participation Certificates (Modified PCs) with new “MA-MD” prefixes, and (iii) the pools are not TBA deliverable and do not include loans modified through HAMP. Freddie Mac intends to provide additional pool-level and loan-level disclosures specific to the Modified PCs, as well as pool-level disclosure of payment history covering up to 36 months before the Modified PC issuance.
FINRA Expands Role Overseeing Equities Markets
On May 22, FINRA announced that it was selected by Direct Edge, the third largest U.S. stock exchange operator, to provide market surveillance services on behalf of Direct Edge’s two licensed stock exchanges. The agreement extends FINRA's surveillance oversight to more than 90% of U.S. equities trading volume. With this agreement, all of Direct Edge's third-party regulatory services will be consolidated with FINRA.
New York State Trial Courts Issue Opposing Opinions on MBS Claims Statute of Limitations
This week, two New York trial court justices issued diverging opinions on when the statute of limitations begins to run on claims related to the repurchase obligations of securitizers under certain MBS pooling and servicing agreements. Both courts explained that under New York law a cause of action for a breach of contract accrues at the time of the breach, and that the statute of limitations for breach of contract is six years. But the courts diverged on the question of whether the clock for claims related to repurchase obligations begins to run from the date the representations for the allegedly faulty mortgages are made, or when the securitizer fails to meet its obligations to repurchase such loans. In one case, the court held that the clock on claims by trustees that the securitizer breached its contract by failing to repurchase began to run on the date the representations were made, i.e. the date the pooling and servicing agreement closed, and dismissed the trustee’s suit because it was filed more than six years after the closing date. Nomura Asset Acceptance Corp. Alt. Loan Trust, Series 2005-S4 v. Nomura Credit & Capital Inc., No. 653541/2011, slip op. (N.Y. Sup. Ct. May 10, 2013). In a second case, the court held the opposite: the statute of limitations did not begin to run until the securitizers improperly rejected the trustee’s repurchase demand, i.e. the breach is the failure to comply, not the date of the representation. Ace Securities Corp, Home Equity Loan Trust Series 2006-SL2 v. DB Structured Prods., Inc., No. 650980/2012, 2013 WL 1981345 (N.Y. Sup. Court, May 13, 2013). Based on that holding, the court found the complaint timely filed and denied the securitizer’s motion to dismiss.
SEC Fills Enforcement Director, General Counsel Positions
On April 22, the SEC announced that George Canellos and Andrew Ceresney will share responsibilities as co-directors of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. Mr. Canellos has been serving as Acting Enforcement Director since January. He previously had been the division’s Deputy Enforcement Director since June 2012, prior to which he served as Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office. Mr. Ceresney previously served as a Deputy Chief Appellate Attorney in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he was a member of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force and the Major Crimes Unit. Most recently, he was in private practice with recently-confirmed SEC Chairman Mary Jo White. On April 23, the SEC named Anne Small as General Counsel. Ms. Small is a former Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel in the White House Counsel’s Office where she advised on legal policy questions with a focus on economic issues. She previously worked at the SEC as Deputy General Counsel for Litigation and Adjudication and now becomes the first woman to be named General Counsel.
SEC Charges Bank for Understating Auto Loan Losses
On April 24, the SEC released an order charging a financial institution and two senior executives for allegedly understating millions of dollars in auto loan losses during the period leading up to the financial crisis. The SEC stated that an investigation identified an alleged failure by the institution to incorporate internal loss forecasts into financial reporting, resulting in the institution understating loan loss expense. The institution did not admit the allegations, but agreed to pay $3.5 million to resolve the charges. The SEC also alleged that the two executives caused the understatements by deviating from established policies and procedures and failing to implement proper internal controls for determining its loan loss expense. The two executives did not admit the allegations, but agreed to pay a combined $135,000 to resolve the investigation, and to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations of the relevant federal securities laws.
SEC Approves Final Investor Privacy Rule
On April 10, the SEC voted unanimously to adopt a final rule requiring broker-dealers, mutual funds, investment advisers, and other regulated entities to implement programs designed to detect and prevent identity theft. The final rule applies to SEC-regulated entities that meet the definition of “financial institution” or “creditor” under the FCRA. The final rule will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and give covered firms six months from the effective date to comply. Under the final rule, covered firms must establish policies and procedures designed to (i) identify relevant types of identity theft red flags, (ii) detect the occurrence of those red flags, (iii) respond appropriately to the detected red flags, and (iv) periodically update the identity theft program. The rule requires covered firms to provide staff training and oversight of service providers, and provides guidelines and examples of red flags to help firms administer their programs. Further, the rule requires covered firms that issue debit cards or credit cards to take certain precautionary actions when they receive a request for a new card soon after notification of a change of address for a consumer’s account.