Largely as a result of changes in the industry following the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, health care organizations have seen their D&O insurance rates increasing and the available terms and conditions tightening, according to a December 10, 2013 report from Marsh. Moreover, these changes are likely to continue in 2014, according to the
The Brazilian Clean Companies Act
For those of you looking ahead to 2014, one date you will want to note on your calendar is January 29, 2014. That is the effective date of the Brazilian Clean Companies Act, a new anti-bribery statute that signals Brazil’s intention to crack down on corruption. The Act represents an operational and compliance challenge
CEOs’ Personal Lives and Corporate Risk
It is not news that the choices CEOs make can significantly impact the companies they lead. But at least according to a recent academic study, CEOs’ ability to affect their companies is not limited just to the decisions they make in their corporate posts, but also includes decisions they make in their personal lives. According to
First the Regulatory Investigation, Then the Securities Suit
It is nothing new for private securities litigation to follow in the wake of a company’s announcement that it is the target of an SEC investigation. Similarly, civil litigation following after a company’s announcement of the existence of an FCPA investigation is a phenomenon I have frequently noted on this blog. A number of these
Guest Post: “Robocop” on the Beat:What the SEC’s New Financial Reporting and AQM Initiative May Mean for Public Companies
With the arrival of the new Chair of the SEC, Mary Jo White, the agency has undertaken a variety of new enforcement initiatives. Among the most interesting is the agency use of data anallytics to try to uncover public company accouunting abuses. The following guest post from Christopher L. Garcia, Paul Ferrillo of the
Banks: Forget Too Big to Fail, How About Too Small to Succeed?
According to the FDIC’s latest Quarterly Banking Profile (here), as of September 30, 2013, there were 6,891 federally insured banking institutions, down from 6,940 at the end of the second quarter and down from 7,141 as of September 30, 2012. There were 8,680 banking institutions as recently as December 31, 2006, meaning that
Are Bank Directors and Officers Entitled to Less Business Judgment Rule Protection Than Other Corporate Directors and Officers?
Are bank directors and officers sufficiently different from directors and officers of ordinary business corporations that the protections of the business judgment rule available to other directors and officers are not available to protect directors and officers of a bank? That is a question that Northern District of Georgia Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. asked
Now Trending: Initial Public Offerings and IPO-Related Securities Suits
Led by Twitter’s successful offering earlier this year, IPO activity in the U.S. during 2013 has been at its highest levels since 2007. While the listing activity seems to bode well for the general economy as well as for the financial markets, the increased number of IPOs has also led to an uptick in IPO-related
E&Y Settles Lehman Brothers Securities Suit for $99 Million
On November 27, 2013, the parties to the consolidated Lehman Brothers securities litigation filed with the court a stipulation of settlement pertaining to the securities class action lawsuit brought by Lehman investors against the bankrupt company’s former auditors, Ernst & Young. The accounting firm has agreed to settle the investors’ claims for a payment of
Even More Mug Shots from Readers
The pictures readers have taken with their D&O Diary mugs have continued to arrive, and so it is time for another round of readers’ mug shots.
Readers will recall that in a recent post, I offered to send out a D&O Diary coffee mug to anyone who requested one – for free –