FDIC CHAIRMAN CALLS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

Although the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) is theoretically geared more to the banking system than the SEC (Security and Exchange Commission) the businesses of banking and securitization has been merged within many institutions over the last couple of decades. In short, what affects the securities industry affects the banking industry and vice verse. The following excerpt from the FDIC web page are remarks given by FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair to the Boston Club:



"Remarks by FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair to The Boston Club, Boston, MA
December 2, 2010
Thank you for that kind introduction. It is wonderful to be back in Massachusetts and an honor to talk to this distinguished group.

The past few years have been the most eventful for U.S. economic policy since the 1930s. And that, of course, is because our nation has suffered its most serious economic setback since the Great Depression. We knew that the crisis posed a grave threat to the U.S. economy. Our response has been historic in scope, and it has sparked a sorely needed debate over the appropriate roles for government and business in regulating and leading the economy.

What I would like to do this morning is outline the rationale for the new reforms, and explain how they intersect with the fundamental need for much greater responsibility and accountability on the part of government and corporate leaders. The following are remarks given by

Warren Buffett has said: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.”

What we need are leaders who are willing to do things differently; leaders who are willing to do the hard work necessary to move our country forward. Leaders who aren’t interested in promoting their short term personal gains, but rather want to build their organizations for the long term for the benefit of this and future generations.

Accountability and responsibility

The financial crisis has revealed critical flaws in how our financial system operated and was regulated, as well as in our leadership culture. If there is an overarching theme of this crisis, it is a lack of accountability by managers, by regulators, by lenders, by borrowers -- by everyone. We see that at the failed banks – both large ones that the government bailed-out and smaller ones the FDIC has had to resolve.

We’ve seen disengaged managers; managers who were not hands-on, who would not take responsibility or find out what was going on inside of their organization. We’ve seen managers who didn’t look beyond their next quarter’s financial statements and who rewarded short term profit generation through high risk activities which sowed the seeds of their ultimate demise. They didn't do their homework, they didn't understand the risks their companies were taking, and they didn't work hard enough. Some were arrogant.

It's an important lesson for investors, shareholders and, of course boards, who ultimately are responsible for hiring the CEO, and making sure that the CEO and other senior managers are up to the job, and doing their job. At larger institutions, some managers assumed that their size protected them from regulatory or market sanctions – that they were so systemically important and interconnected that they were Too Big To Fail. And some of them proved to be right. Especially at the height of the financial crisis, we saw these large, systemically important institutions exempted from the type of supervisory sanctions that community banks face every day.

That is one of the reasons why we fought so hard to end Too Big To Fail. We now have a resolution process that will impose discipline on large institutions as well as the smaller ones. If they get into trouble, there will be accountability. There will be consequences for management, for corporate boards, for investors, and for creditors.

Too Big To Fail & Resolution Authority

The new Dodd-Frank financial reform act establishes a credible resolution authority for giant banks and non-bank financial institutions. It gives the FDIC, for the first time, a set of receivership powers to close and liquidate systemically-important financial firms that are failing. These new powers are similar to the existing FDIC receivership process for insured banks and thrifts.

Let me briefly describe the practical significance of these new powers. In the old world of Too Big To Fail, risk taking was subsidized. Systemically-important companies took on too much risk because the gains were private while the losses were socialized. Market discipline failed to rein in the excesses at these institutions because equity and debt holders -- who should rightly be at risk if things go wrong -- enjoyed an implicit government backstop.

This skewing of financial incentives inevitably led to a misallocation of capital and credit flows, which ultimately was harmful to the broader public good, as we have seen with the recent devastating losses of livelihoods, homes, and life savings. It was these poor incentives in place under Too Big To Fail that helped push risk out into the so-called shadow banking system, where regulation was the lightest. That’s where you saw most of the excesses in subprime and nontraditional mortgage lending, as well as holdings of mortgage-related derivative instruments.

So implementing the new resolution authority and ending Too Big To Fail is a game changer. It corrects the economic incentives, and protects the broader public good:


Market discipline will be restored,
Financial incentives will be better aligned,
Capital and credit will be allocated more efficiently, and
Taxpayers will no longer be on the hook when financial companies get it wrong.

Executive compensation

Another example of lack of accountability can be found in the misaligned compensation incentives, which were among the root causes of the financial crisis. Compensation was too-often based on deal volume or current earnings, and not enough attention was paid to risks that eventually caused problems down the road.

It is not appropriate for regulators to set or limit compensation. But it is very appropriate to undertake regulatory initiatives that encourage companies to structure compensation so that excessive risk taking is discouraged, long term profitability is rewarded, and most importantly, that meaningful financial penalties are imposed on employees whose risk taking ends up causing losses later on.

Fiscal responsibility

In Washington, we also need more accountability for our increasingly dire fiscal situation. We must mend our ways if we are to preserve financial stability in the years ahead. Excessive government borrowing poses a clear danger to our long-term financial stability, and assuaging it requires fiscal responsibility and leadership. Total U.S. public debt has doubled in just the past seven years to almost $14 trillion, or more than $100,000 for every U.S. household.

This explosive growth in federal borrowing is not only the result of the financial crisis, but also the unwillingness of our government over many years to make the hard choices necessary to rein in our long-term structural deficit. If it is not checked soon, this borrowing will at some point directly threaten financial stability by undermining the confidence that investors have in U.S. government obligations.

Actually fixing these problems will require a bipartisan national commitment to a comprehensive package of spending cuts and tax increases over many years. The plan released yesterday by the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform offers such a plan. It proposes a combination of spending cuts, revenue-enhancing tax reforms, and cost containment in health care and entitlement programs that would produce nearly $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next ten years.

While opinions differ as to exactly what combination of spending cuts and revenue increase will be necessary we can be sure that most of the needed changes will be unpopular, and will likely affect every interest group in some way or another. We will want to phase in these changes over time as the economy continues to recover from the effects of the financial crisis.

But only with a comprehensive package can we truly achieve the long-term budget discipline needed to preserve our nation’s credibility in global financial markets, and maintain a stable banking system to support the real economy. We must look beyond our narrow partisan interests, and show the world that we are prepared to act boldly to secure our economic future.

Leadership

I am very proud of the stability that the FDIC has provided throughout the crisis. No one lost a penny of insured deposits. And in fact, no one has ever lost a penny of insured deposits in the 77 years since the FDIC was created in 1933. As the crisis unfolded and other financial sectors were destabilizing, insured deposits remained stable and there were no disruptions.

As the leader of an organization, I always try to keep a focus on mission. Protecting insured deposits is a very important, tangible mission. It's one that the public understands and appreciates.

If you look at other organizations – whether private or public -- that have high morale, they have a clearly defined mission. The leadership at those organizations has to ensure that people stay focused on the mission and help them understand how their individual jobs relate to the mission. You need accountability. You need responsibility. You need people to take ownership of their jobs and connect that to the organization’s broader mission.

One challenge I have is to tell our people how good they are. That their judgment is as good as that of the banks they are examining, and that it is their job to speak up about any concerns they have. That they have the right and the obligation to question and tell a bank’s management about those concerns, whether they're not reserving enough against their loans, or that they're moving into a new line of business or a new geographic area in which they are unfamiliar.

Conclusion

We all know there are no easy shortcuts to rebuilding our financial infrastructure and reining in our long-term structural deficit. And it is always appealing to try to go back to old and familiar ways. But in American finance, those are the practices that pushed our economy to the brink of ruin.

Instead, we must move forward, make the tough choices, and accept that preserving stability is a prerequisite to making the financial system more efficient and more profitable. In the end, leadership means showing the resolve to identify emerging risks and taking concerted action to head them off.

In concluding, I don’t want to leave you with the impression that all leadership in the financial sector should be faulted. There are several examples of senior management at financial institutions, large and small, who avoided the excessive risk taking that led to the crisis. So let us celebrate those who led their organizations effectively and resolve to foster a culture which rewards managers who are willing to forego short term profits in favor of long term stability and prosperity.

And as part of building that culture, let’s hope that we see a lot more women in the upper echelons of financial institution management, including – at long last – at the very top.

Thank you."

The FDIC believes there has to be reform in order to improve our overall economy. With reforms supported by the FDIC along with legal sanctions taken by the SEC perhaps we might have a light at the end of this long dark tunnel our economy in which our economy has been stuck. We can only hope someone sprays for poisonous spiders before financial oversight authorities signal that it is O.K. to move through the tunnel to the light.

SEC CHARGES DELOITTE TAX LLP PARTNER IN INSIDER TRADING SCHEME

Too often people have the misconception that those who are extremely rich made their fortunes by building “a better mouse trap”. In fact, after watching all these fantastical frauds which are only now being exposed by the SEC it might seem that most people who make vast fortunes make their money through some sort of fraudulent scheme. The following release from the SEC goes into depth regarding a family of alleged fraudsters who use a legitimate position in a legitimate company to swindle honest investors out of their hard earned savings. The following is an excerpt from the SEC web page:

“SEC Charges Deloitte Partner and Wife in International Insider Trading Scheme
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2010-234
Nov. 30, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a former Deloitte Tax LLP partner and his wife with repeatedly leaking confidential merger and acquisition information to family members overseas in a multi-million dollar insider trading scheme.

The SEC alleges that Arnold McClellan and his wife Annabel, who live in San Francisco, provided advance notice of at least seven confidential acquisitions planned by Deloitte's clients to Annabel's sister and brother-in-law in London. After receiving the illegal tips, the brother-in-law took financial positions in U.S. companies that were targets of acquisitions by Arnold McClellan's clients. His subsequent trades were closely timed with telephone calls between Annabel McClellan and her sister, and with in-person visits with the McClellans. Their insider trading reaped illegal profits of approximately $3 million in U.S. dollars, half of which was to be funneled back to Annabel McClellan.
The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced charges against the two relatives — James and Miranda Sanders of London. The FSA also charged colleagues of James Sanders whom he tipped with the nonpublic information in the course of his work at his London-based derivatives firm. Sanders's tippees and clients made approximately $20 million in U.S. dollars by trading on the inside information.
"The McClellans might have thought that they could conceal their illegal scheme by having close relatives make illegal trades offshore. They were wrong," said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. "In this day and age, whether it's across oceans or across markets, the SEC and its domestic and foreign law enforcement partners are committed to identifying and prosecuting illegal insider trading."
Marc J. Fagel, Director of the SEC's San Francisco Regional Office, added, "Deloitte and its clients entrusted Arnold McClellan with highly confidential information. Along with his wife, he abused that trust and used high-placed access to corporate secrets for the couple's own benefit and their family's enrichment."
According to the SEC's complaint, Arnold McClellan had access to highly confidential information while serving as the head of one of Deloitte's regional mergers and acquisitions teams. He provided tax and other advice to Deloitte's clients that were considering corporate acquisitions.
The SEC alleges that between 2006 and 2008, James Sanders used the non-public information obtained from the McClellans to purchase derivative financial instruments known as "spread bets" that are pegged to the price of the underlying U.S. stock. The trading started modestly, with James Sanders buying the equivalent of 1,000 shares of stock in a company that Arnold McClellan's client was attempting to acquire. Subsequent deals netted significant trading profits, and eventually James Sanders was taking large positions and passing along information about Arnold McClellan's deals to colleagues and clients at his trading firm as well as to his father.
Among the confidential impending transactions allegedly revealed by McClellan:
Kronos Inc., a Massachusetts-based data collection and payroll software company acquired by a private equity firm in 2007.
aQuantive Inc., a Seattle-based digital advertising and marketing company acquired by Microsoft in 2007.
Getty Images Inc., a Seattle-based licenser of photographs and other visual content acquired by a private equity firm in 2008.
The SEC's complaint alleges the following chronology involving insider trading around the Kronos transaction:
November 2006: Arnold McClellan begins advising Deloitte client on planned Kronos acquisition.
Jan. 29, 2007: McClellan signs confidentiality agreement.
Jan. 31, 2007: Following call from Annabel's cell phone, James Sanders begins buying Kronos spread bets in his wife's account.
March 11, 2007: Arnold McClellan has two-hour cell phone call with client to discuss acquisition. Less than an hour later, call from same cell phone to Annabel's family.
March 12-14, 2007: James Sanders increases size of Kronos bets.
March 16, 2007: James Sanders informs another family member that Annabel is the source of his tips; describes his agreement to split profits with her 50/50.
March 23, 2007: Deloitte client publicly announces Kronos acquisition. Kronos stock price increases 14 percent; James Sanders and other tippees reap approximately $4.9 million in U.S. dollars.
The SEC's complaint charges Arnold and Annabel McClellan with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of illicit profits with prejudgment interest, and financial penalties.
The SEC's case was investigated by Victor W. Hong, Monique C. Winkler, Alice L. Jensen, and Jina L. Choi of the San Francisco Regional Office. The Commission would like to thank the UK Financial Services Authority, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their assistance in this matter.”

The above case shows how manipulated our securities markets have become over the last several years. At one time the SEC and others would pounce on people who did anything that was remotely inappropriate. However, over the years market manipulation was looked upon as a good business practice by at least the last two presidential administrations (One democrat and one republican). The SEC under this current administration is at least trying to control the use of fraud as a legitmate part of finance.

SEC REPORTED ON WORK PLAN FOR GLOBAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

The SEC has published their first report on their quest to develop global accounting standards. The following is an excerpt from the SEC web site:

Washington, D.C., Oct. 29, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of the Chief Accountant and Division of Corporation Finance today published their first progress report on the Work Plan related to global accounting standards.

The Commission directed agency staff earlier this year to execute the Work Plan to provide the information needed to evaluate the implications of incorporating International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) into the financial reporting system for U.S. issuers. The Commission indicated that following successful completion of the Work Plan and the convergence projects of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), it will be in a position in 2011 to determine whether to incorporate IFRS into the U.S. financial reporting system.

"The staff has invested significant time and effort in executing the Work Plan, and we've made great progress to date," said SEC Chief Accountant Jim Kroeker. "This progress report emphasizes the importance of transparency in the staff's activities, and can help the public's understanding of the magnitude of this project and the staff's progress."

The Work Plan addresses six key areas:

Sufficient development and application of IFRS for the U.S. domestic reporting system.
The independence of standard setting for the benefit of investors.
Investor understanding and education regarding IFRS.
Examination of the U.S. regulatory environment that would be affected by a change in accounting standards.
The impact on issuers both large and small, including changes to accounting systems, changes to contractual arrangements, corporate governance considerations, and litigation contingencies.
Human capital readiness.
The SEC staff expects to continue to report periodically on the status of the Work Plan in 2011."

Global Accounting Standards seems like something every would agree is needed in a global economy. The establishment of enforced Global Accounting Standards would in theory save governments and businesses a tremendous amount of money. Getting some nations to sign on to such standards might be a problem since every nation thinks that their way at doing anything is the best way. Changing accounting practices in the U.S. to reflect the practices in other nations might in fact be difficult since we have such a huge economy.

THREE LOCATIONS RAIDED FOR INSIDER TRADING EVIDENCE

This week the FBI raided at least three corporate locations where evidence of insider trading might be located. It was widely circulated amongst news agencies that the locations were addresses for Level Global Investors LP, Diamondback Capital Management LLC and, Loch Capital Management LLC. The FBI has an ongoing investigation therefor, they will not give specifics.

If the companies mentioned above are under investigation then this is important news. The SEC has been investigating and prosecuting several companies for various crimes however, the SEC can only fine criminals but, the FBI can put them in jail.

There arm many on Wall Street that believe that insider trading should be just another money making tool for wealthy individuals and companies. The problem with insider trading can best be illustrated with companies that seem healthy according to all available information but, suddenly the company is shorted over the course of a few trading days into having a nearly worthless stock. Then the bad news known only by a lucky few becomes public and the honest investor has lost and the inside trader walks away with all the money. In short, insider trading is anything but a victimless crime.

NEW SEC RULES TARGET POLITICAL PAYOFFS

Mary Shapirro and the SEC has made perhaps the boldest move yet in trying to impliment reforms to get some of the corruption out of our government. The following is an excerpt from the SEC meeting held on June 30, 2010:

Good Morning. This is an open meeting of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 30, 2010.

Today we consider adopting rules that would significantly curtail the corrupting influence of "pay to play." Pay to play is the practice of making campaign contributions and related payments to elected officials in order to influence the awarding of lucrative contracts for the management of public pension plan assets and similar government investment accounts.

Pay to play distorts municipal investment priorities as well as the process by which investment managers are selected. It can mean that public plans and their beneficiaries receive sub-par advisory performance at a premium price.

The cost of this practice is borne by retired teachers, firefighters and other government employees relying on expected pension benefits, or by parents and students counting on a state-sponsored college savings account. And, ultimately, this cost can be borne by taxpayers, who may have to make up shortfalls when vested obligations cannot be met.

An unspoken, but entrenched and well-understood practice, pay to play can also favor large advisers over smaller competitors, reward political connections rather than management skill, and — as a number of recent enforcement cases have shown — pave the way to outright fraud and corruption.

There should be no place for such practices in an investment advisory industry subject to high fiduciary standards. The selection of investment advisers to manage public plans should be based on the best interests of the plans and their beneficiaries, not kickbacks and favors.

The rules we consider today will help level the playing field, allowing advisers of all sizes to compete for government contracts based on investment skill and quality of service.

Background
When the Commission first considered a proposal to curb adviser pay to play practices in 1999, it was, in part, motivated by widespread media accounts of dubious arrangements between fund managers and municipal officials.

In the years since, the amount of money at stake — and the incentive for inappropriate conduct — has ballooned. Public pension plans now represent one-third of all U.S. pension assets, with more than $2.6 trillion in assets under management.

Additionally, state-sponsored higher education savings plans — commonly known as "529s" — now hold approximately $100 billion in assets. These plans were in their infancy when the Commission first took up this issue in 1999.

The SEC has brought a series of enforcement actions charging investment advisers with participating in pay to play schemes. Most recently, we brought a civil action involving allegations of unlawful kickbacks paid in connection with investments by the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

In recent years, civil and criminal authorities also have brought cases in California, New York, New Mexico, Illinois, Ohio, Connecticut, and Florida, charging the same or similar conduct.

Our recent cases may represent just the tip of the iceberg. I fear that many other efforts to influence the selection of advisers to manage government plans pass unnoticed or — though highly suspect — cannot be proven to have crossed the line into actionable behavior.

Not surprisingly, parties to these suspect transactions take care to blur their motives, to hide their actions and to conceal their connections, making it difficult to prove a direct quid-pro-quo or an intent to curry favor in a specific case. The prophylactic rules we consider today are designed to eliminate this legal and ethical gray area.

Elements of the Rule
The rule we consider today has three key elements:

First, it would prohibit an adviser from providing advisory services for compensation — either directly or through a pooled investment vehicle — for two years, if the adviser or certain of its executives or employees make a political contribution to an elected official who is in a position to influence the selection of the adviser.
Second, the rule would prohibit an adviser and certain of its executives and employees from soliciting or coordinating campaign contributions from others — a practice referred to as "bundling" — for an elected official who is in a position to influence the selection of the adviser. It also would prohibit solicitation and coordination of payments to political parties, when the adviser is pursuing business from public entities.
Finally, and very importantly, the rule would prohibit an adviser from paying third-party solicitors who are not "regulated persons" subject to prohibitions against making contributions. Such "regulated persons" would be limited to registered investment advisers and to broker-dealers subject to pay to play restrictions.
Third party placement agents have been involved in some of the most egregious pay to play activities in recent years, and their activities should not continue unabated. The approach we are taking is a strong step toward eliminating the corruptive influence that can result from the use of third party placement agents.

It will greatly improve the status quo by banning payments to third parties who solicit government clients, unless they are "regulated persons" subject to pay to play restrictions comparable to the rule we are considering for adoption today.

This approach provides far greater protection of public pension plans and their beneficiaries than is currently the case, as third party placement agents come under the regulatory umbrella and, for the first time, become subject to meaningful federal pay to play restrictions.

This approach should effectively eliminate the opportunity for abuse that currently exists from third party placement agents. However, if the Commission determines that third party placement agents continue to inappropriately influence the selection of investment advisers for government clients — even under our enhanced rules — I expect that we would consider the imposition of a full ban on the use of these third parties.

Let me end by underscoring once again why we are here today. Pay to play practices are corrupt and corrupting. They run counter to the fiduciary principles by which funds held in trust should be managed. They harm beneficiaries, municipalities and honest advisers. And they breed criminal behavior. I hope my colleagues will join me today in striking a blow against a practice that has no legitimate place in our markets.

Before we hear more details about the rules we are considering for adoption, let me first offer my thanks to the individuals — representing a cross-section of four divisions and numerous offices — for their help in bringing to the table today a truly thoughtful, impressive and potent example of rulewriting."









--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FORMER COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL CEO TO PAY 22.5 MIL. TO SETTLE CHARGES

The SEC released its settlement details with the former CEO of Countrywide Financial. Although this is just a punishment which amounts to a fine at least the SEC has done something whereas, the rest of the government is worried about cutting social programs for the elderly and even our veterans. The people who served our country directly though military service and those who worked hard all their lives and supported the government by paying social security and medicare taxes are again those who will have to pay the price for rampant fraud and abuse by con-men and paid off government officials.

The following is an excerpt from the SEC web pages regarding it's settlement with Countrywide Financial:

"Washington, D.C., Oct. 15, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that former Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo will pay a record $22.5 million penalty to settle SEC charges that he and two other former Countrywide executives misled investors as the subprime mortgage crisis emerged. The settlement also permanently bars Mozilo from ever again serving as an officer or director of a publicly traded company.

Mozilo’s financial penalty is the largest ever paid by a public company's senior executive in an SEC settlement. Mozilo also agreed to $45 million in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains to settle the SEC’s disclosure violation and insider trading charges against him, for a total financial settlement of $67.5 million that will be returned to harmed investors.

Former Countrywide chief operating officer David Sambol agreed to a settlement in which he is liable for $5 million in disgorgement and a $520,000 penalty, and a three-year officer and director bar. Former chief financial officer Eric Sieracki agreed to pay a $130,000 penalty and a one-year bar from practicing before the Commission. In settling the SEC’s charges, the former executives neither admit nor deny the allegations against them.

The penalties and disgorgement paid by Sambol and Sieracki will also be returned to harmed investors.

“Mozilo’s record penalty is the fitting outcome for a corporate executive who deliberately disregarded his duties to investors by concealing what he saw from inside the executive suite — a looming disaster in which Countrywide was buckling under the weight of increasing risky mortgage underwriting, mounting defaults and delinquencies, and a deteriorating business model,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement.

John McCoy, Associate Regional Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, added, “This settlement will provide affected shareholders significant financial relief, and reinforces the message that corporate officers have a personal responsibility to provide investors with an accurate and complete picture of known risks and uncertainties facing a company.”

The settlement was approved by the Honorable John F. Walter, United States District Judge for the Central District of California in a court hearing held today.

The SEC filed charges against Mozilo, Sambol, and Sieracki on June 4, 2009, alleging that they failed to disclose to investors the significant credit risk that Countrywide was taking on as a result of its efforts to build and maintain market share. Investors were misled by representations assuring them that Countrywide was primarily a prime quality mortgage lender that had avoided the excesses of its competitors. In reality, Countrywide was writing increasingly risky loans and its senior executives knew that defaults and delinquencies in its servicing portfolio as well as the loans it packaged and sold as mortgage-backed securities would rise as a result.

The SEC’s complaint further alleged that Mozilo engaged in insider trading in the securities of Countrywide by establishing four 10b5-1 sales plans in October, November, and December 2006 while he was aware of material, non-public information concerning Countrywide’s increasing credit risk and the risk regarding the poor expected performance of Countrywide-originated loans.

In addition to the financial penalties, Mozilo and Sambol consented to the entry of a final judgment that provides for a permanent injunction against violations of the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Mozilo also consented to the entry of a permanent officer and director bar, and Sambol consented to the entry of a three-year bar.

Sieracki agreed to a permanent injunction from further violations of Sections 17(a)(2) and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act, and consented to a one-year bar under the Commission’s Rule of Practice 102(e)(3).

The SEC investigation that led to the filing and settlement of this enforcement action was conducted by Michele Wein Layne, Spencer E. Bendell, Lynn M. Dean, Paris Wynn, and Sam Puathasnanon. Together with Associate Regional Director John M. McCoy, that same team has been handling the SEC’s litigation.

The SEC has filed many other enforcement actions involving mortgage-related securities and mortgage-related products linked to the financial crisis, including:

American Home Mortgage (4/28/2009)
Reserve Fund (5/05/2009)
Evergreen (6/08/2009)
New Century (12/07/2009)
Brookstreet (12/08/2009)
Goldman Sachs (4/16/2010)
Farkas/Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (6/16/2010)
ICP (6/21/2010)
Citigroup (7/29/2010)"

Angelo Mazilo was for many people in the press the very face of the slick, fast talking salesman and con-man who helped to fuel the housing bubble by making loans to everyone. Mr. Mazilo was in fact just one of many thousands of people who made millions by tweaking the truth. In fact, there have been so many big businessmen who committed fraud in this country that capitalism is becoming as big a failure here as communism was in the old Soviet Union. Our free enterprise system has been replaced by some toxic form of economics which rewards liars and frauds and punishes honest men of good character because they will not pay government officials for the right to conduct an honest business in the United States of America.