BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

Two key provisions in the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform bill that became law on July 21 are likely to provide activist investors with greater leverage in setting executive compensation – further tipping scales away from historical management-led control. The first is a measure that requires U.S. companies to disclose the ratio between CEO pay and that of their average employee. The second will provide shareholders with a mandatory, non-binding “say on pay” – or an advisory ... READ MORE

The financial regulatory reform package signed into law by President Obama last month includes new whistleblower incentives that will dramatically alter the corporate anti-corruption landscape. Under a provision in the Dodd-Frank Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is required to pay whistleblowers a cash reward of between 10 and 30 percent of any monetary penalties it recovers as a result of civil or criminal cases brought with the assistance of original whistleblower information. While there is ... READ MORE

As part of a continuing series of Bulletproof Blog™ video interviews with thought leaders across multiple disciplines and industry sectors, I recently sat down with Paul Equale, President of Equale and Associates, to discuss the most significant impacts of impending financial regulatory reform. With the most expansive changes to the financial regulatory structure in a generation in the offing, Mr. Equale outlined key details about the bill, outlined how discussions at the international level – and ... READ MORE

Add another voice to the growing chorus who are signaling the dawn of a new era in the fight against corruption. In just the last several months, Obama Administration officials, leading trade organizations, and high-profile NGOs have all articulated an intensified focus on corporate corruption issues. Now, credit rating agencies have jumped onto the bandwagon – and, in the process, they have provided companies with compelling reasons to demonstrate a commitment to honest and ethical ... READ MORE

As the U.S. House and Senate begin conference negotiations on a final financial regulatory reform bill that is expected to reach the President’s desk by the July Fourth recess, proponents of the legislation are aggressively articulating that “the most far-reaching financial regulatory reforms in generations” are, at their core, a victory for the people over the powerful. This is a powerful message indeed. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has said that the bill “will restore the financial ... READ MORE

With all that’s been in the news recently, it might be easy to forget that there is nary a page in the annals of American history that wasn’t written, at least in part, because a bank made it possible. For more than 200 years, banks have provided the capital necessary for many of the United States’ most significant commercial and societal undertakings – and at a time when the financial services industry’s image needs to ... READ MORE

Late yesterday, reports surfaced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York is conducting a criminal investigation into whether Goldman Sachs or its employees committed securities fraud while trading in the mortgage market. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) referred the matter to the Justice Department, according to reports. The extent to which this news ratchets up the pressure on Goldman Sachs is hard to overstate. As the Wall Street Journal noted, ... READ MORE

In this regular feature, Bulletproof interviews top plaintiffs' attorneys for their perspective on the crises likely to affect businesses in the near future. Today we talk to Steve Berk of Berk Law PLLC in Washington, DC. Mr. Berk is currently litigating four cases on behalf of clients allegedly defrauded in Ponzi schemes facilitated by leading banks. Such events are now being called “mini-Madoffs.” Three of the cases are against Bank of America. The fourth is Benson ... READ MORE

Today, Goldman Sachs executives will appear before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations under the absolute toughest of circumstances. The investment banking giant is certainly no stranger to controversy, having taken more than its share of reputational lumps in the past.  But since the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed civil charges alleging that the bank hid details from clients investing in mortgage-backed securities, and then bet against those same clients, the public’s vitriol – ... READ MORE

With the market-moving news that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil fraud action against Wall Street’s most prestigious investment bank, Goldman Sachs, the fight for the company’s reputation continues, and moves to an entirely new level. The timing of this action (the Friday before a busy week in the U.S. Senate, as it takes up the Obama Administration’s financial reform package) has simultaneously raised eyebrows across the financial markets and provided an opening ... READ MORE