Corporate Governance

SEC Settlements Decline in 2008

By Tamar Weinrib

In 2003, the year following the enactment of Sarbanes Oxley, the number of SEC settlements soared. However, since 2003 the number of SEC settlements has steadily declined hitting a five year low of 672 settlements in 2008.  NERA Economic Consulting, which reported these numbers in a recent report, did not provide an explanation for the decreasing number of settlements but pointed out that the amounts of those settlements have actually increased due to settlement payments involving Ponzi schemes, bribery allegations, and other causes of action.  NERA noted that a review of early 2009 settlements may provide an indication of any change in settlement approach by the "Obama Administration SEC" though many of these settlements will likely result from cases commenced during the Bush Administration.  Click hereto view NERA's recently launched website which tracks securities litigation trends.

Full post as published by PomTalk on March 09, 2009 (boomark / email).