SEC

Regulators officially ended the high-profile enforcement action over the 2020 breach, a move applauded by security leaders fearing personal liability.

The case has put chief information security officers on notice that they could be personally liable for false statements about security policies and practices.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said it was important for the agency to not stifle innovation through its regulatory approach.

Provident Bank announces its new chief lending officer; the SEC's acting chairman asks a federal court to delay scheduling cases involving a rule on climate-related disclosure; the merger deadline for Capital One Financial's proposed acquisition of Discover Financial Services is extended; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Hester Pierce, a Republican SEC appointee, said industry watchdogs had previously been practicing regulation by enforcement with digital assets.

Eric Council, Jr. will spend two years in prison for an identity theft scheme that led to a false post by the SEC on X that bitcoin ETFs had been approved.

Bank of Montreal dismissed a managing director on its US mortgage-backed bond desk in connection with a regulatory probe into misleading marketing practices.

Hester Peirce and SEC Acting Chair Mark Uyeda say they want to group to devise a clear compliance framework for digital assets and end regulation by enforcement.

The avalanche of cases announced Friday included charges against a no-longer registered advisor and firm accused of misappropriating more than $20 million from clients.

With Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler preparing to step down, the CEO of Unicoin, which is being sued by the agency, expresses hope for more acceptance of cryptocurrencies by the incoming Trump administration.

Misconceptions about the risks of private credit must not be allowed to affect important policy decisions about an industry that provides vital support to a vast swath of the American economy.

The SEC chair's ambitious agenda drew fierce resistance from Wall Street and the crypto industry.

Whoever is named SEC chair by the president-elect is likely to take a lighter hand on crypto, AI and "regulation by enforcement."

The president-elect has nominated Jay Clayton to be U.S. Attorney for Manhattan. Clayton has no experience as a federal prosecutor.

Regulators have been working their way steadily down from the biggest players in the industry to regional firms in their quest to stamp out abuses of "off-channel" communications.

Researchers wonder if similar regulatory attention could eventually hit the bottom lines of independent broker-dealers and RIAs.

Nearly 20 years ago, the SEC made business development companies subject to an obscure reporting rule that pushed them out of major index funds. Reversing course would be a major boon to small businesses.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's overly broad expansion of the Dealer Rule is only the latest example of the agency's yearslong effort to stifle innovation in a vibrant and growing industry.

The SEC's pending requirement that securities trades settle within one day shouldn't be a problem for any modern financial firm. What we should be aiming for is real-time settlement.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, having already approved spot bitcoin ETFs, ought to follow through and grant the same approval to spot ethereum funds. Doing so would create a new surge of investment, with positive economic impacts.