Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive Adam Storch has been tapped by the Securities and Exchange Commission to serve as its chief operating officer of the enforcement division. Storch will be the first person to ever hold the position as the SEC continues to shift its personnel in order to enhance its operations.
Robert Khuzami, the SEC’s Enforcement Division Director, announced earlier this year that his division would be undergoing a major restructuring effort, one that included the creation of Storch’s new post. Storch’s responsibilities will include overseeing the division’s budget, information technology, and administrative services. He will also be in charge …read more

The financial crisis has led the Securities and Exchange Commission to keep an even closer eye on businesses to make sure that the nation’s economy does not suffer because of immoral practices on the part of a small group of people. Homebuilder KB Home has become the latest company to come under the SEC’s magnifying glass due to “possible accounting and disclosure issues,” a potentially serious situation for KB Home.
KB Home is no stranger to such proceedings, as the company’s former CEO, Bruce Karatz, is currently awaiting trial concerning federal charges that the executive fraudulently manipulated stock options. Karatz resigned …read more

As the Securities and Exchange Commission continues to clamp down on unscrupulous Wall Street denizens, Chairman Mary Schapiro has written an open letter to U.S. investment CEOs that warns against using bonuses to compensate brokers. According to Schapiro, such a practice encourages brokers to aim for more sales at the expense of the customer’s interest.
 
In her letter, Schapiro took note of recent news stories that revealed many CEOs using increased commissions and upfront bonuses to hire brokers, warning that such a practice ends up benefiting the broker more than the customer. By giving brokers large bonuses, Schapiro argues, the brokers …read more