Cox Pushes Change/SEC Exit Nears, New Citi CCO

SEC proposals, foreign trading restrictions and on credit ratings, in waning months of Bush administration. WSJ (reg req'd for full art.) Fed Steps Bolster Banks-Easier for private-equity to invest

Citigroup said Cindy Armine is its new CCO.
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Fed took unprecedented step of barring it from “significant acquistions.” Citi’s image tarnished from Enron, WorldCom and conflicted research. Bond traders upset European regulators. Weak AML practices nearly got it booted from Japan. Bolstering compliance staff led to management bloat. Armine must find balance between policies and profit, also must work closely with legal and regulators, who stepped up scrutiny of risk after more than $40 billion in write-offs. Marisa Lago, who led compliance i-bank and alternative investments, left “to pursue other interests.”

Fed, SEC Deal to Redraw Regulation; Citi and Goldman Brace for Layoffs

FED-SEC information to be shared include data regarding settlements, trade and positions. Links to Reuters via NYT and WSJ(Subscription Needed)

Agreement could be announced this week, aim is to fill gaps and increase cooperation in wake of Bear. SEC will get information from Fed on bank short-term financing. Fed would be able to see investment bank trading positions, leverage and capital requirements. SEC chief under fire as Fed seeks bigger Wall St role WSJ link via Daily Herald

Hundreds of Citi investment bankers and traders, including many senior, expected to begin losing jobs as bank completes 2,000 layoffs announced in March.

Even Goldman acknowledging reality:Last wk began cutting bankers,expected to cut up to 10% of M&A and corporate fundraising staff. Banks swinging axe with harder force, total announced dismissals over 83,000 and more expected. It is unclear where the bottom of this market will be. History of Wall St Layoffs

Cox to Fast-Track Fund Regs

SEC's Cox thinking legacy as term winds down: Working on soft dollar interp guidance, 12b-1 fees and portfolio valuation. Also more streamlined SRO rule approval and new muni database. WSJ

Pasternak, Leighton cleared of SEC charges

Attorneys not involved in case said it's rare for SEC to lose a case it takes to trial. Attorney and former deputy chief counsel with NASD enforcement, said 90% of SEC enforcement actions settle. Fordham law prof said, "Going to trial is a crap shoot." Wall Street Journal Blogs and all 9 news articles » NITE

S.E.C. Proposes Tighter Credit-Rating Rules

6/25 WSJ article - Proposed rules that may diminish the longstanding importance of credit ratings across various markets - may make it possible for money-market funds to invest in short-term debt without regard to ratings put on those securities by firms such as Moody's and S&P.

Proposed new rules intended to stem conflicts of interest, expand disclosure for credit rating industry and flag ratings of more complex securities. Seeking to make ratings more open while also encouraging new firms enter. Three firms that dominate the $5 billion-a-year industry — S&P, Moody’s and Fitch—widely accused of failing to identify risks in subprime mortgage investments. AP via NYT»
WSJ: Plan Would Bring Greater Disclosure; Key Firms Back It

Supporters Of Fed Window Could Use Regulations To Gain Competitive Advantage-Dealbreaker

Front-Running Evidence, Financial Regulation Debate, BofA exits Prime Brokerage

Bank of America Bids Good-Bye to Prime Brokerage
Deal to sell to BNP Paribas. Not a premier player BA ranked in second or third tier, chasing Morgan Stanley and Goldman. Had about 500 hedge fund clients,nothing to sneeze at. With demise of Bear, landscape changing:opportunities for newcomer to carve niche. (Ex: Citi recently carved specialty as a stock lender). Identifying niche not easy, given competition.

More-FINalternatives article

Citi's Pandit Calls for Debate on Financial Regulations

Merrill Chief Campaigns for Reserve Window

Evidence of Front-Running on Wall St. at portfolio.com

N.Y. Fed Chief Calls for More Fed Authority

N.Y. Fed Chief Calls for More Fed Authority - Bloomberg via NY Sun

The president Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Timothy Geithner, called for greater central bank authority over banks so the financial system can better withstand shocks and recover from the credit crisis. the Fed's lending programs to commercial and investment banks will remain "until conditions in money and credit markets have improved substantially," Mr. Geithner wrote in an op-ed article for the Financial Times. His remarks were excerpted and adapted from a speech to be delivered yesterday in New York.

Charges of Insider Trading for Wall St. Luminary

Spent decades teaching at business schools and watching students parlay lessons into fortunes. Lectured at Goldman, DB and Merrill. Few people on or off Street moved in such rarefied circles.

Future of Financial Regulation?

Geithner Plan to Save the Financial System - NY Fed proposals to help shore up our “fragile” financial network: Greater capital and liquidity requirements; more supervision of derivatives; NYT/FT


Bear wipeout signals sea change-step in makeover. May 29 Fortune article "Bear wipeout signals sea change"

Fed and SEC Oversight Relationship debate ongoing. Paulson Blueprint would make Treasury the uber-financial regulator. SEC Chairman Cox advocated increased supervisory role over the major investment banks that it currently oversees through the Consolidated Supervised Entities (CSE) system. Washington Post explored how Fed and SEC are working out joint involvement in aftermath of Bear rescue. Fed staff members from both the bank supervision and markets groups accompanying SEC on visits to big I-Banks. Meanwhile SEC preparing a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize information-sharing and cooperative efforts. Fed Keeps Watch on Wall St. -- From the Inside.
SEC Chief to Press on Global Rules-WSJ

Knight's Pasternak, Leighton finally to pay piper?

Pasternak focused on federal courthouse in Trenton. He and other former Knight SEC sued Pasternak and John Leighton, defending against SEC civil fraud allegations, they stand accused of allowing improper trading. Already sanctioned, NASD fined each $100K for supervisory violations. Case involves Leighton's brother, Joe, former Knight sales trader who regulators said defrauded customers by overcharging them tens of millions of commission dollars. Joe paid more than $4 million to settle civil charges brought by the SEC and NASD.

Knight agreed in 2004 to pay more than $79 million to settle charges related to Joe's actions. NASD arbitration panel concluded Pasternak's response to "red flags of possible misconduct was woefully inadequate." Pasternak and John Leighton, who headed Knight's institutional trading desk, have insisted their actions were proper. Read Star Ledger

SEC to Rein in Wall St....Where Are They Now?

SEC Plans to Rein in Wall St.

SEC's Cox's response to Bear collapse is to call for greater agency oversight over the four remaining "consolidated supervised entities" -- Morgan Stanley, Goldman, Lehman and Merrill --- giant firms that do not have a bank that subjects them to Fed supervision. Cox has called for more disclosure about capital and liquidity and a reduction of short-term financing. WSJ Heard on the Street column questioned whether additional disclosure about capital and liquidity would be useful to investors. Reducing leverage might be useful, although Street will complain that SEC turning "pit bulls into poodles." A good thing? WSJ,5/9/08 The SEC's Show of Force.

Where Are They Now?
Link to Portfolio.com interactive feature...for notorious White Collar criminals

SEC Exams of Investment Advisers - Top 10 List

SEC Exams of Investment Advisers - Top 10 List [Posted by by howard@compliance-insights.com]

Everyone loves a Top 10 List, and OCIE Director Lori Richards (SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations) did not disappoint. C-I outlines OCIE's current "Top 10 Areas of Focus" and provides a link to the details.

..... 1. Controls Over Valuation. A firm's controls for valuing or pricing securities, with particular emphasis on structured products, illiquid securities or other difficult-to-price securities.
..... 2. Controls Over Non-Public Information / Personal Trading / Code of Ethics. Instances of suspicious trading have increased, so the SEC was to review a firm's controls to prevent insider trading in client, prop or employee accounts. They'll look at the firm's own compliance and supervisory programs.
..... 3. Dealing with Senior Citizens. Examiners are looking at free lunches, marketing, sales and related supervisory processes. Need we say more - it's nothing you haven't heard before.
..... 4. Compliance and Supervision. A key area; examiners want to understand the IA's compliance program to see if it appears designed to capture and manage that particular adviser's compliance risks. Has the adviser conducted a risk-assessment and ID'd its own compliance risks and conflicts of interest, then crafted and implemented procedures to effectively mitigate those risks. Recent conflicts: new revenue-sharing payment streams from IAs to BDs, so as to get on "recommended adviser lists.
..... 5. Portfolio Management. Examiners want to see if securities recommendations and investments made for clients and funds are consistent with the adviser's disclosures and the client's investment objectives and restrictions.
..... 6. Brokerage Arrangements and Best Execution. Brokerage arrangements must be consistent with fiduciary obligations to clients, and that IAs seek best execution, whether it uses soft dollars consistent with its disclosures, and whether the adviser periodically and systematically evaluates the costs and benefits of its brokerage arrangements.
..... 7. Allocations of Trades. Has the adviser disclosed its policies with respect to how it will allocate trades? Examiners look out for "cherry picking" and favoritism in allocations.
..... 8. Performance Advertising, Marketing and Fund Distribution Activities. Claims about past investment performance, ... must contain accurate information, and required disclosures (like conflicts of interest) are included in materials, pitchbooks, etc.
..... 9. Safety of Clients and Funds' Assets. Safeguarding clients' assets from theft. loss and misuse - including custodian arrangements and whether an independent custodian sends account statements directly to clients.
..... 10. Information Processing and Protection. A firm's controls over books and records, disclosures and filings; including business continuity plans.

Link: Speech by SEC Staff, 2/20
http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/2008/spch032008lar.htm?nl042408BLOG2

Lehman Opened Fed Spigot

Financial engineering helped get Wall Street into its current credit-market problems. Now, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. using a little engineering -- and some help from the U.S. Federal Reserve -- to bolster its finances. In recent weeks, Lehman moved $2.8 billion in loans, including some risky leveraged-buyout debt that has been difficult to sell, into a newly created investment vehicle it named "Freedom," which in turn issued debt securities backed by the loans. About $2.26 billion of the securities received investment-grade credit ratings from Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's. Lehman then pledged some of the ...

Even beyond the credit crisis, the much-heralded Treasury secretary has failed to accomplish most of his own agenda. 5/12/08 Update from Portfolio.com The Problem with Paulson

Related Slideshow

Still demand for compliance and legal positions

Go to eFINANCIAL for this and other job news http://news.efinancialcareers.com/JOB_MARKET_ITEM/newsItemId-13201


Industry insiders say there is still demand for client service, investor relations, compliance and legal positions as firms work to keep existing clients from jumping ship during rocky economic times.

"The service side is still surprisingly active," says one senior executive with a top tier Chicago recruiting firm. In this volatile environment, he says, firms know they can't add new assets, so they're "over-delivering" on the service side. "Competitors are literally at the door, waiting to snap up the clients," says the recruiter. "You better have the right people in place to make the calls when you're down 30 percent."

Wide Demand

Service demand exists across asset management, from long-only institutional shops to hedge fund operations. Stuart Rosenthal, senior recruiter with Legend Global Search, sees healthy activity in legal and compliance, in addition to client service.

"We're seeing openings at some of the bulge bracket firms, as well as in the middle market," Rosenthal says. While firms are being "careful with budgets," they're adding attorneys, risk management, and service providers, he says. He also sees demand in the mid-salary range, and describes the market as competitive.

Somewhat Insulated

Even in the wake of Bear Stearns' meltdown, Chicago remains somewhat insulated from the market downturn compared to its coastal counterparts. Recruiters say asset management in Chicago is more diversified than in New York or on the West coast. While activity is slow, Windy City firms are not seeing a "deep dive" in asset management, as the head of one bank's institutional asset management sales force puts it.

"Chicago has been somewhat immune to layoffs," says Jim Geiger, vice president at Analytic Recruiting, which has a strong Chicago presence. "There's been a slowdown in hiring among MBAs and PhDs, but there is still hiring."

Seeking Experience

With so many layoffs, competition for jobs is at an all-time high, Rosenthal observes. Most firms are looking for people with strong backgrounds and experience. Even at the mid-salary levels, employers want someone who can hit the ground running.

"We're always looking at people with a track record," Rosenthal says. Geiger echoes that. "This is not a market where our clients are going to take a chance on someone who is new to the field," he says. "They want a track record or a specific niche."

Risk Management....Regulation, Net Capital Changes?

I am sure that you have seen the articles and are aware of the discussion on looming Regulatory changes. One battle is likely to be over risk-management and requiring higher cash reserves as a cushion against trading losses.

Fed Staff Monitor Investment Banks - Securities Law Prof Blog link and summary:
Federal Reserve staff onsite at five major investment banks to monitor their financial condition. Cox testified before Senate banking committee, amid inceased Congressional criticism of its performance. Senator Grassley asked SEC inspector general to review the 2005 investigation into Bear's pricing of mortgage-related assets, which SEC closed without filing charges.

WSJ, The Fed Hits the Street. Go to Securities Law Prof Blog w/wsj.com link
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/securities/2008/04/fed-staff-monit.html

Did you know that in addition to the top Compliance and Legal talent in the marketplace, my network and database includes top Risk Management candidates?

Legend Global's proprietary database of contacts together with my own network built on a 20 year-Regulatory and Compliance career provides insight not available from anywhere else. Legend's website shows the breadth of our services including an overview of the types of jobs we fill: www.ComplianceHQ.com.
Please let me know how and when I can help and I will devote manpower to meet your need(s).

Stuart Rosenthal | Legend Global Search, Inc. | 212.293.8920 SRosenthal@ComplianceHQ.com

Links
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120631764481458291.html?mod=rss_markets_main

In Washington, a Split Over Regulation of Wall Street http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/business/23regulate.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin">

Regulatory Underkill: Arthur Levitt, former SEC Chair, calls for regulatory reforms in a Wall St. Journal op-ed piece including: How we can inject greater transparency into the markets and bring about a change in attitude on the part of business leaders and policy makers that puts the interests of investors first. This may require a more fundamental restructuring of how we regulate the markets -- for instance, merging the SEC and the CFTC to create a single securities regulator -- and giving that regulator the resources and the authority to do its job, something the SEC currently lacks.
WSJ Op-ED link http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120605716375753327.html?mod=todays_us_opinion

SEC Chair Cox last week sent letter to chairman of Basel Committee on Banking Supervision expressing strong support for planned updated guidance on liquidity management for banking organizations in light of the recent market turmoil. Chairman Cox Letter to Basel Committee in Support of New Guidance on Liquidity Management March 21, 2008 in SEC Action http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-48.htm

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