New York Times (August 2)
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined Citigroup $75 million for misleading shareholders. “Too big to fail” author Andrew Sorkin notes the irony. This settlement punishes the shareholders, the very “same people who were arguably defrauded by its [Citigroup’s] failure to disclose its exposure to subprime mortgages in the first place.” The SEC admits this is “awkward,” but claims corporate settlements best encourage companies to obey disclosure regulations. Former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt has a different opinion, “a class of innocent shareholders is being asked to pay for the misconduct of corporate officers.”
Tags: Citigroup, Disclosure, Fine, SEC, Shareholders