Senate’s Warren Seeks Disclosure Over Firms’ Wrongdoing

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

By Cheyenne Hopkins - Jan 8, 2014
U.S. government agencies would have to provide “accessible and detailed” disclosure of settlements over corporate wrongdoing under a bill proposed by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tom Coburn today.

“Anytime an agency decides that an enforcement action is needed, but it is not willing to go to court, that agency should be willing to disclose the key terms and conditions,” Warren said in a statement. “Increased transparency will shut down back-room deal-making and ensure that Congress, citizens and watchdog groups can hold regulatory agencies accountable for strong and effective enforcement.”

Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, announced their proposal a day after JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) agreed to pay $2.6 billion to resolve criminal and civil allegations related to the bank’s dealings with Bernard Madoff, the New York money manager convicted for running a Ponzi scheme.

Under the lawmakers’ Truth in Settlements Act, all public statements referencing dollar amounts would have to include explanations of how those agreements are categorized for tax purposes and whether payments may be offset by “credits.” The bill would have to gain approval by the full Senate and the Republican-controlled House before it could go to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-08/senate-s-warren-seeks-fuller-disclosure-over-firms-wrongdoing.html