Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, speaking Jan. 4 on objective standards for corporate penalties:
"… All but three of the penalties of $50 million or more obtained in commission settlements since 1986 have been obtained in the last three years. …
Because of the sea change that has occurred in the SEC's use of its penalty authority, the commission for some time now has been looking with great particularity at the questions of whether, and to what extent, monetary penalties should be imposed on an issuer found to have committed securities law violations…
The principles behind our guidelines are clear. In protecting investors it is important to punish wrongdoers and deter further malfeasance. And it is important not to compound the harm already caused to investors."
