Harvard Corporate Governance Blog Publishes Akin Gump Article on SEC and FCA Enforcement Trends

Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance has published “The FCA and SEC Annual Reports—A Statistical Comparison,” an article that seeks to identify enforcement trends, themes and priorities of both the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

First published as an Akin Gump client alert, the article was authored by Akin Gump litigation partners Helen Marshall and Michael Asaro and counsel Joe Hewton, along with partner Peter Altman, counsel Emily Hansen and associate Phil Davies. They examine the most recent annual reports from the two regulators, looking at the number and type of cases they have each brought, the financial penalties they have imposed and the time they have taken to conduct investigations.

The authors conclude by observing that, in spite of the pandemic, “both the SEC and the FCA have clearly remained active.” In addition, while there may have been “a reduction in the number of cases brought on both sides of the Atlantic, it can be expected that this will rebound as the world moves past the initial shocks of the pandemic (and indeed, the pick-up in enforcement actions may already be starting).” Firms should keep in mind, the authors add, that they are “under duties of openness and transparency with their regulators, and it is always worse for the regulator to find out about an issue from a third party.”

To read the article in its entirety, please click here.