The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly – Week of 6/3/2013 Posted on June 7, 2013 by occupythesec
Good
FINRA has launched an investigation into dark pools – the opaque (hence the name), private trading venues that manage an increasing share of equity trades – by sending examination letters to 15 pool operators. While we would prefer that this be done by the SEC rather than the industry’s self-policing group, it’s at least a first step toward what could be more oversight. Scott Patterson of the Wall Street Journal, June 6, 2013.
Bad
In a seeming attempt to generate some “tough on bankers” soundbytes, prosecutors will only pursue criminal charges for mid-level traders rather than the top executives at Barclays for the massive price-fixing LIBOR scandal. Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism June 6, 2013.
Ugly
A whistleblower complaint filed by Kathleen Furey, a senior lawyer at the New York Regional Office of the SEC has many interesting and alarming revelations within it. The most revealing being her disclosure that superiors told her before 2008 that “we dont do IM [investment manager] cases”, basically saying the SEC deosn’t enforce two of their main tools, the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. It was policy not to go after Madoff. Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone May 29, 2013