WASHINGTON—The Securities and Exchange Commission obtained record monetary sanctions in the latest fiscal year, as Chairman
Gary Gensler
focuses the agency’s enforcement strategy on high-profile cases and steep penalties for misconduct.
Mr. Gensler said Wednesday the agency raked in $6.4 billion in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, his first complete fiscal year on the job. That beat the previous record, set in fiscal 2020, by nearly 40%.
While the number of enforcement actions filed by the SEC remained steady around 700 in fiscal 2022, the agency obtained orders for some of its highest fines ever and claimed a record $4 billion in civil penalties.
“‘Hopefully, market participants take notice of these high-impact cases and change behavior’”
Mr. Gensler, a Democrat nominated by President Biden, said he wants to deter Wall Street firms from viewing regulatory settlements as a cost of doing business.
“Hopefully, market participants take notice of these high-impact cases and change behavior,” Mr. Gensler said in a speech prepared for delivery Wednesday before the Practising Law Institute.
A civil law-enforcement agency that enforces investor-protection laws, the SEC directly supervises brokers, asset managers and stock exchanges. That makes such entities reluctant to fight the agency in court, defense attorneys say, giving the SEC leverage to jack up penalties when it wants to send a message.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the SEC had levied fines of $2.2 billion against exchange-listed companies during the latest fiscal year.
SEC Under New Leadership
Read more articles on the agency’s enforcement, selected by the editors
Separately on Wednesday, SEC commissioners are set to vote on a pair of regulatory initiatives.
One considers finalizing a proposal made last fall that would require money managers to disclose more information about how they use their voting power in public companies, including on executive compensation. The other is whether to advance a proposed rule aimed at making open-end mutual funds more resilient to market stress.
Write to Paul Kiernan at paul.kiernan@wsj.com and Dave Michaels at dave.michaels@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
WASHINGTON—The Securities and Exchange Commission obtained record monetary sanctions in the latest fiscal year, as Chairman
Gary Gensler
focuses the agency’s enforcement strategy on high-profile cases and steep penalties for misconduct.
Mr. Gensler said Wednesday the agency raked in $6.4 billion in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, his first complete fiscal year on the job. That beat the previous record, set in fiscal 2020, by nearly 40%.
While the number of enforcement actions filed by the SEC remained steady around 700 in fiscal 2022, the agency obtained orders for some of its highest fines ever and claimed a record $4 billion in civil penalties.
“‘Hopefully, market participants take notice of these high-impact cases and change behavior’”
Mr. Gensler, a Democrat nominated by President Biden, said he wants to deter Wall Street firms from viewing regulatory settlements as a cost of doing business.
“Hopefully, market participants take notice of these high-impact cases and change behavior,” Mr. Gensler said in a speech prepared for delivery Wednesday before the Practising Law Institute.
A civil law-enforcement agency that enforces investor-protection laws, the SEC directly supervises brokers, asset managers and stock exchanges. That makes such entities reluctant to fight the agency in court, defense attorneys say, giving the SEC leverage to jack up penalties when it wants to send a message.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the SEC had levied fines of $2.2 billion against exchange-listed companies during the latest fiscal year.
SEC Under New Leadership
Read more articles on the agency’s enforcement, selected by the editors
Separately on Wednesday, SEC commissioners are set to vote on a pair of regulatory initiatives.
One considers finalizing a proposal made last fall that would require money managers to disclose more information about how they use their voting power in public companies, including on executive compensation. The other is whether to advance a proposed rule aimed at making open-end mutual funds more resilient to market stress.
Write to Paul Kiernan at paul.kiernan@wsj.com and Dave Michaels at dave.michaels@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8