Gouvernance, Risques et Conformité * Governance, Risk & Compliance * Governança, Risco e Compliance * Lutte contre les crimes économiques.
segunda-feira, 25 de fevereiro de 2013
Compliance com os Consumidores: Uma relação imperativa no mundo das redes sociais.
Cuidado, Diligência é o Compliance do seu bolso.
terça-feira, 15 de janeiro de 2013
Compliance News Monitor for Lumturo Strigo
quarta-feira, 2 de janeiro de 2013
Caixa suspende novos financiamentos à MRV por lista de trabalho escravo
REUTERS 02/01/2012
SÃO PAULO, 2 Jan (Reuters) - A Caixa Econômica Federal suspendeu nesta quarta-feira a concessão de novos financiamentos à MRV Engenharia após uma das filiais da construtora mineira ter sido incluída em atualização de cadastro do Ministério do Trabalho de empregadores que tenham submetido funcionários a condições análogas às de escravo.
"A Caixa Econômica Federal informa que... suspendeu a recepção e contratação de novas propostas de financiamento de produção de empreendimentos com a referida empresa", informou o banco em nota.
Em comunicado pela manhã, a MRV afirmou que a inclusão --ocorrida na última semana de dezembro-- é referente a uma fiscalização conduzida em 2011, "em que foram identificadas supostas irregularidades promovidas por empresa terceirizada que prestava serviços para a MRV, a qual não trabalha mais para a companhia desde 2011".
Segundo informações do Ministério do Trabalho, em fiscalização realizada no início de 2011 foram resgatados 11 trabalhadores que atuavam na obra do Edifício Spazio Cosmopolitan, em Curitiba (PR).
"A MRV contratou parte dos trabalhadores por intermédio de empresas empreiteiras fornecedoras de mão de obra (terceirização ilícita), dentre as quais a V3 Construções, objeto da ação fiscal e flagrada mantendo trabalhadores em regime de escravidão contemporânea", informou a assessoria do Ministério.
Os 11 autos de infração lavrados em desfavor da MRV incluem ausência de registro dos trabalhadores, alojamento sem condições adequadas de conservação, higiene e limpeza, e ausência de local para refeições no canteiro de obras e de instalações sanitárias.
Em agosto passado, a MRV já havia tido dois projetos incluídos na lista do Ministério do Trabalho: Residencial Parque Borghesi, em Bauru, e Condomínio Residencial Beach Park, em Americana, ambos no interior de São Paulo.
Na ocasião, a Caixa, que é signatária do Pacto Nacional pela Erradicação do Trabalho Escravo no Brasil, também suspendeu a concessão de novos financiamentos.
Em setembro, a empresa obteve liminar em mandado de segurança junto ao Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STJ) para ter seu nome retirado do cadastro.
A MRV é uma das principais parceiras da Caixa e a maior repassadora de recursos do programa "Minha Casa, Minha Vida", do governo federal, cuja segunda fase prevê 2,6 milhões de moradias contratadas até 2014.
As operações da companhia já contratadas junto à Caixa não serão suspensas, segundo o banco.
As ações da construtora e incorporadora caíram 2,75 por cento, enquanto Ibovespa subiu 2,62 por cento.
No comunicado desta quarta-feira, a companhia informou estar tomando medidas e ações cabíveis para promover a exclusão de seu nome do cadastro "e prestar os devidos esclarecimentos necessários junto aos órgãos competentes e ao mercado em geral".
Para ter o nome retirado do cadastro de trabalho escravo, o Ministério impõe como condição o monitoramento direto ou indireto por dois anos para "verificar a não reincidência na prática do trabalho escravo e o pagamento das multas resultantes da ação fiscal".
Além de responderem a processos, os empregadores incluídos na lista perdem o direito a financiamentos privados e públicos, o que inclui recursos providos pelo Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES).
No final da tarde, a MRV informou que sua subcontratada V3 Construções assumiu todos os compromissos para a regularização das condições de trabalho de seus operários.
"Assim sendo, a MRV não foi diretamente responsabilizada pelo fato que gerou a sua inclusão no cadastro do Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego", afirmou o comunicado.
(Por Vivian Pereira, com reportagem adicional de Aluísio Alves)
quarta-feira, 26 de dezembro de 2012
Anti-money Laundering Compliance
Canada Bank Bonds, China Internet, Ukraine Bank: Compliance
By Carla Main - Dec 26, 2012 3:01 AM GMT-0200
Canadian banks issued a record amount of domestic debt this year as they rushed to get ahead of new rules that will make issuing subordinated bonds costlier as of next month.
Lenders such as Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce sold C$31.6 billion ($31.8 billion) in domestic bonds this year, or 11 percent more than in 2011 and the most in Bloomberg League Tables dating to 1999. So far in December, banks sold C$4.6 billion in bonds, more than double the amount from the same period last year, the data show.
Borrowing accelerated before rule changes take effect that will change the way regulators treat callable subordinated debt, which banks use to build capital provisions. Beginning Jan. 1, Canadian banks will no longer be able to issue subordinated notes as so-called Tier 2 securities, part of a system where lenders classify capital depending on the ability of the bonds to absorb losses.
Next year’s issuance of debt by the country’s eight largest banks will fall as much as 20 percent, said John Aiken, an analyst in Toronto at Barclays Plc. (BARC) Although banks aren’t restricted from issuing subordinated debt, it won’t be as economical for them to do so, he said.
Canada’s banking regulator released final Basel III capital adequacy rules this month that aim to bring the country’s lenders into line with new global standards beginning next year.
For more, click here.
Compliance Policy
Dodd-Frank Swap Rules Delayed Six Months for Overseas Trades
The largest Wall Street banks and foreign-based financial companies won a six-month delay in some swap regulations for overseas trades, even as they must begin registering with U.S. regulators by year-end.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the main U.S. derivatives regulator, voted 4-1 to leave the registration deadline in place while providing a delay until July 12 for capital and other requirements for overseas operations of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and other banks, the agency said in a statement. The CFTC also reduced the number of overseas offices immediately registering.
The international reach of CFTC swap rules has been one of the most controversial elements of the agency’s Dodd-Frank Act rules, prompting opposition from financial companies. The agency has also faced criticism from European and Asian regulators over the reach of a rule requiring trades to be guaranteed at clearinghouses and traded on exchanges or other platforms.
The CFTC is working with international regulators to determine when overseas rules can be used to substitute compliance with Dodd-Frank measures.
Under the exemption order, foreign-based banks and overseas operations of U.S. banks don’t need to count trades they have with non-U.S. clients to determine whether they cross the threshold requiring registration with the CFTC. The agency also sought additional public comment on how to define U.S. entities and foreign branches of U.S. companies.
Dennis Kelleher, CEO of Better Markets, a Washington-based organization advocating stricter financial regulation, said the delay fails to protect U.S. taxpayers.
China Web Stocks Sink on State Rules as E-House Jumps
Chinese equities fell Dec. 24 in New York, after posting the longest stretch of weekly gains since October, as concern the government will take stricter measures to control the nation’s online access sent Internet stocks lower.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s lawmaking body, will decide this week on proposed legislation that would require Web users to register their real names to gain Internet access, the Xinhua news agency reported Dec. 23. Sina Corp. (SINA), owner of the Twitter-like Weibo service in China, dropped the most in three weeks andSohu.com Inc. (SOHU) retreated from a six-month high. E-House China Holdings Ltd. (EJ)surged the most in two weeks.
The People’s Daily newspaper, published by the ruling Communist Party, has featured during the past week front-page editorials calling for more regulation of the Web, saying the “chaotic Internet” needs to be controlled.
The iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund, the biggest Chinese exchange-traded fund in the U.S., also declined. The ETF has risen 12 percent this year.
Japan May Expand List of High-Capital Banks, Nikkei Says
Japan may expand its list of banks it requires to maintain high levels of capital, Nikkei reported, without attribution.
Major trust banks, including Sumitomo Mitsui Trust and Norinchukin, would be added to the list of Japanese banks required to maintain the higher levels, according to the Nikkei report. The proposal recommends a capital ratio 0.5 point higher than regular banks for the newly designated banks, to be phased in beginning in 2016.
Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho Financial, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are on the G-20 list of 28 global banks that are to have the 2.5 point surcharge.
Japan’s Financial Services Authority next year will start evaluation of banks to determine the list.
Russia Plans Tax Law for Off-Shore Projects, Vedomosti Says
Russian government ministries approved a draft tax law for companies working on the continental shelf, Vedomosti reported, citing an unidentified government official.
The law may be signed by year-end. The draft law doesn’t contain the amendment proposed by the Natural Resources Ministry that had added a profit tax for offshore projects, the newspaper reported, citing Deputy Minister Denis Khramov. The newspaper said Khramov didn’t elaborate.
The draft included all of the government’s proposed tax incentives, the paper reported, citing Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Fedorov.
Companies will pay a mineral extraction tax at five to thirty percent of the oil price, will be guaranteed a stable tax regime for 15 years, and will get tax benefits, according to draft law.
Compliance Action
SouthGobi Says Mongolia Corruption Probe to Look At Licensing
SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (SGQ) said the Mongolian Independent Authority Against Corruptionis continuing its investigation into historical licensing issues, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The Authority will investigate divestment of SouthGobi licenses to third parties and the involvement and conduct of government officials. SouthGobi said the authority has concluded its questioning of its chief legal counsel Sarah Armstrong, and she is no longer a suspect.
SEC Puts Off Decision on BlackRck’s Copper ETF to February
The Securities & Exchange Commission, the U.S. regulator, delayed a decision to approve or disapprove BlackRock Inc. (BLK)’s proposed copper exchange-traded fund from Dec. 24 to Feb. 22.
More time is needed to consider comments submitted, the SEC said in a notice dated Dec. 21 on its website. NYSE Arca Inc. had filed on June 19 a request to list the iShares Copper Trust, sponsored by BlackRock Asset Management International Inc., the SEC said.
Melissa Garville, a spokeswoman for BlackRock in New York, declined to comment Dec. 24 on the SEC’s decision.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. won regulatory approval for the first U.S. ETF backed by physical copper, according to an SEC order on its website date Dec. 14. The regulator accepted the proposal amid remarks from some industrial users that the product may disrupt the copper market.
Comings and Goings
Ukraine Central Banker Joins Government Amid IMF Loan Talks
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych promoted central bank chief Serhiy Arbuzov to first deputy premier as the government seeks its third bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund since 2008.
Serhiy Arbuzov, who led Natsionalnyi Bank Ukrainy since December 2010, will be responsible for the country’s finances and economy, as well as trade, social, tax and agricultural policies, Yanukovych said in a decree posted on his website Dec. 24. Ihor Prasolov, who was head of the central bank’s advisory council, was appointed economy minister.
The country’s legislature approved Mykola Azarov’s return as prime minister on Dec. 13, after he resigned earlier in the month due to his election to parliament.
For more, click here.
El-Erian Named by Obama to Lead U.S. Global Development Council
President Barack Obama will appoint Mohamed El-Erian, the chief executive officer of Pacific Investment Management Co., to head the U.S. global development council.
El-Erian, who shares the title of co-chief investment officer of Newport Beach, California-based Pimco with Bill Gross, will be chairman of Obama’s global development council, which was created earlier this year to advise the president on ways to promote economic development and good governance in countries all over the world, according to a Dec. 21 statement from the White House. El-Erian, 54, will head the council as a member of the private sector and his role at Pimco won’t change.
El-Erian coined the “new normal” phrase in 2009, which describes an era of lower returns, heightened government regulation, diminishing U.S. clout in the world economy and a bigger role for developing nations. He is the author of “When Markets Collide,” a 2008 New York Times bestseller, and regularly writes commentaries on topics ranging from the global economy to education.
Congressman McHenry to Lead House Investigations Subcommittee
Congressman Patrick McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina, was chosen to lead the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee in the 113th Congress, according to a statement on his website.
The appointment was made by the incoming chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Congressman Jeb Hensarling, a Republican from Texas.
As chairman, McHenry “will provide oversight of the Federal Reserve, Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the Export- Import Bank,” according to the statement.
To contact the reporter on this story: Carla Main in New Jersey at cmain2@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this report: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.
segunda-feira, 24 de dezembro de 2012
Canada Credit Unions, JPMorgan ‘Whale’ Order: Compliance
By Carla Main - Dec 24, 2012 11:55 AM GMT-0200 Bloomnerg
Canada’s federal government issued new rules on Dec. 21 that give credit unions the option to become federally incorporated entities, allowing them to expand across the country and better compete with banks.
Credit unions, financial institutions owned by their customers and overseen by provincial regulators, have been waiting for the changes first announced in the 2010 federal budget. TheDepartment of Finance released the final rules in a statement on its website.
Credit unions choosing to convert would fall under the oversight of Canada’s banking regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, giving them the ability to operate nationally instead of being limited to their home provinces.
David Phillips, chief executive officer of the trade association for the country’s credit unions, said in a statement that the organization welcomed the announcement as a “major milestone.”
Compliance Policy
Banks’ Loan-Loss Reserves Seen Jumping 50% in FASB Proposal
Banks’ loan-loss reserves may jump about 50 percent under a proposed U.S. accounting-rule change that redefines how quickly firms must recognize bad debts, standard-setters said.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s proposed rule, revising a February draft, pushes banks to start recognizing losses on loans, debt securities and other financial receivables when firms see early signs of potential loss. The policy would move from an “incurred loss” model to an “expected loss” model, similar to changes under consideration by the International Accounting Standards Board, which sets the rules used in most nations outside the U.S.
FASB’s estimate shows banks probably would need to boost reserves by billions of dollars if the new rule is implemented. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), the largest U.S. bank by assets, had $24 billion in its allowance for credit losses at the end of September. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp., ranked No. 2, had $26 billion.
Spokesmen for Bank of America, New York-based JPMorgan and Citigroup Inc., the third-largest U.S. bank, declined to comment.
The FASB draft is open for comment until April 30. Even if the final proposal is adopted next year, it probably won’t take effect before 2015, according to a person with knowledge of the plans, who requested anonymity because the timing wasn’t announced. The effective date was left blank in the Dec. 20 draft.
The accounting board is looking to change how reserves and asset values are measured after the financial crisis forced lenders to devote capital to losses, leaving some of the world’s largest banks struggling to meet regulatory thresholds and remain solvent.
For more, click here.
Banks Told by U.S. Regulator to Share Cyber Attack Information
A U.S. banking regulator told financial institutions to report cyber attacks to law enforcement and alert customers to their impact as new assaults targeted PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (PNC) and other banks.
The Dec. 21 alert from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency warned about a wave of so-called distributed denial-of-service attacks. Such actions harness networks of infected computers to pump large volumes of Internet traffic at websites, often causing slowdowns or disruptions.
A group calling itself Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters announced plans to attack banks in a Dec. 10 statement posted on the website pastebin.com. The comptroller’s office, which didn’t identify targeted banks or the groups responsible for the attacks, said fraudsters can use them to distract bank personnel to disrupt bank operations.
China to Allow Companies to Invest Idle Proceeds, Xinhua Says
China will allow listed companies to invest idle proceeds from fundraising in “safe, good liquidity” investment products, such as government bonds and wealth management products from banks, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing China Securities Regulatory Commission.
Companies will be allowed to use raised funds to temporarily bolster working capital for 12 months, compared to 6 months previously, Xinhua reported.
Thirty percent of the raised funds can be used within 12 months to permanently bolster working capital and pay bank loans, up from 20 percent previously, Xinhua reported.
Compliance Action
Rate Scandal Sees U.K. Fines Triple Previous Record in 2012
Penalties against Barclays Plc (BARC) and UBS AG for their roles in the Libor rate-rigging scandal helped the U.K. Financial Services Authority more than triple its previous fines record in 2010 to at least 312 million pounds ($506 million) this year.
The FSA’s penalties would have been even higher, at more than 400 million pounds, without discounts granted in about two- thirds of cases for cooperation with the regulator, London-based law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP said in an e-mailed statement.
The FSA fined Barclays around 60 million pounds and UBS 160 million pounds this year for attempting to manipulate the London benchmark interbank interest rate, known as Libor.
Global authorities are investigating claims that more than a dozen banks altered submissions used to set benchmarks to profit from bets on interest-rate derivatives or make the lenders’ finances appear healthier.
U.K. Banks Seen Sacrificing Lending for BOE Capital Demand
U.K. banks, under pressure from the Bank of England to increase capital, may do exactly what the central bank doesn’t want them to do: cut lending.
While trimming or delaying dividends, selling assets, reducing pay or raising equity would also bolster capital, banks such as government-owned Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY) may be tempted to shrink lending, said Paul Mumford, who helps manage about 350 million pounds ($569 million) including Barclays Plc, RBS and Lloyds shares at Cavendish Asset Management Ltd. in London.
Britain’s four-biggest banks may need as much as 60 billion pounds in extra capital to meet future loan losses, compensate customers and pay regulatory fines, according to the Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report last month. Central bank Governor Mervyn King is pressing banks to raise capital levels without reducing lending to support an economy struggling to avoid a triple-dip recession.
For more, click here.
JPMorgan Said to Face First Enforcement Action on Whale Loss
JPMorgan Chase & Co. will be the target of a regulatory enforcement order stemming from mistakes that led to at least $6.2 billion in trading losses, according to a person briefed on the situation.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is preparing to issue a cease-and-desist order requiring the largest U.S. bank to fix internal risk controls that contributed to its wrong-way bet on credit derivatives, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the discussions aren’t public. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, 56, said in May that the firm’s strategy was beset by “errors, sloppiness and bad judgment.”
The timing of the enforcement is uncertain, the person said.
Joe Evangelisti, a JPMorgan spokesman, and Bryan Hubbard, an OCC spokesman, declined to comment on any potential enforcement actions, reported earlier in the Wall Street Journal.
The faulty trades within the bank’s chief investment office -- associated with London-based trader Bruno Iksil, widely known as the London Whale -- may eventually cost more than $6.2 billion, Dimon has said.
That investment office within JPMorgan’s national bank suffered from “inadequate risk management, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry said during U.S. Senate testimony in June.
The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is also probing the loss.
SEC Files Suit Against Former New Generation Biofuels Chairman
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil action against Lee S. Rosen, the former chairman of New Generation Biofuels Holdings Inc. (NGBF), alleging he fraudulently avoided reporting his ownership interest in the company.
Rosen will settle with the SEC without admitting or denying the allegations, according to an agency statement Dec. 21. Rosen will pay a total of $911,484 in fines and will be barred from serving as a company’s officer or director.
The complaint alleges that in addition to receiving $666,000 in direct payments, he ‘‘indirectly benefited’’ from using New Generation shares held in trusts as partial payment for a yacht.
The SEC earlier suspended trading of Columbia, Maryland- based company, citing its lack of public disclosures since the period ending June 30, 2011.
A phone message left for Bryan McPhee, a company spokesman, wasn’t returned. An e-mail sent to him couldn’t be delivered. Previous filings said the company makes biofuels from oils and animal fats.
Courts
Barclays Staff Ask U.K. Court for Anonymity in London Libor Suit
Barclays Plc traders and employees who made submissions to set interest rates applied to a U.K. court asking for anonymity in the U.K.’s first civil lawsuit related to manipulation of the London interbank offered rate.
A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 21 to decide whether the bank’s staff implicated in the suit, filed by Guardian Care Homes Ltd. over a loss-making interest rate swap tied to the benchmark, can remain anonymous, according to court spokeswoman Rachael Collins in London.
Barclays was ordered to give affiliates of Guardian Care the identities of 208 employees named in the bank’s disclosure to regulators over the Libor-rigging allegations.
Kevin Roberts, a lawyer at Morrison & Foerster LLP representing some of the workers, didn’t immediately return a phone call and e-mail seeking comment. Jon Laycock, a Barclays spokesman, declined to comment.
The case is Graiseley Properties Ltd. & Ors. v. Barclays Bank Plc, High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division Commercial Court, No. 12-1259.
Mathew Martoma Indicted for $276 Million Insider Trade
Mathew Martoma, the former SAC Capital Advisors LP portfolio manager accused in what prosecutors have called the biggest insider-trading case, was charged in an indictment with making $276 million for the firm on inside tips about a clinical drug trial, a sign that he may not be considering a plea deal.
The insider-trading indictment sets in motion a criminal trial process that puts new pressure on him to cooperate with the government’s investigation of the hedge-fund firm founded by billionaire Steven A. Cohen.
At issue in the Martoma case is a 20-minute phone call prosecutors said he had with Cohen after allegedly receiving negative test results about a drug that was intended for use by Alzheimer’s patients. The day after the call, SAC liquidated a $700 million position in Elan Corp. (ELN) and Wyeth LLC, the companies that were promoting the drug.
The government claims SAC netted $276 million in profits and averted losses in the Elan and Wyeth trades. Cohen isn’t alleged in Martoma’s indictment to have known Martoma had inside information. Prosecutors have made no claims about precisely what was said on the call.
Jonathan Gasthalter, a spokesman for Stamford, Connecticut- based SAC, declined to comment on the indictment. Gasthalter has said Cohen and SAC acted appropriately in making the trades. Cohen hasn’t been charged criminally or sued by regulators in the case.
Martoma was arrested at his Boca Raton, Florida, home on Nov. 20 and charged in a criminal complaint. The indictment charges him with one count of conspiracy and two counts of securities fraud. If convicted, Martoma faces as many as 20 years in prison on the securities fraud charges and five years on the conspiracy charge.
‘‘Though disappointing, today’s events come as no surprise,” Martoma’s lawyer, Charles Stillman, said in a statement Dec. 21. “The simple fact is that Mathew Martoma did not trade on inside information, is innocent of all these charges and we look forward to his ultimate vindication.”
The case is U.S. v. Martoma, 12-cr-00973, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Ex-Anglo Irish Chairman Fitzpatrick Charged for Hiding His Loans
Former Anglo Irish Bank Corp. Chairman Sean Fitzpatrick was charged with hiding personal loans of as much as 139.8 million euros ($184.5 million) from the auditors of the now-nationalized bank.
Fitzpatrick, 64, appeared in court in Dublin Dec. 21 after being charged with breaches of Irish company law for providing “misleading, false or deceptive” declarations to company auditors, according to court documents filed by prosecutors.
Earlier, Fitzpatrick and two other one-time Anglo Irish directors were ordered on Oct. 8 to stand trial in relation to loans to 16 clients to buy shares in the bank in 2008. He said at the time that while the transactions “were inappropriate and unacceptable from a transparency point of view,” they did not breach banking or legal regulations.
Fitzpatrick was remanded on bail until March 1, when the so-called book of evidence will be presented to the court. His solicitor Michael Staines didn’t immediately return calls to his office seeking comment on the charges.
Interviews
Themis’s Saluzzi Says NYSE, ICE Deal Good for ‘Players’
Joseph Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading LLC, saidIntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE)’s plan to buy NYSE Euronext (NYX) will be “good for the players involved.” Saluzzi spoke with Bloomberg’s Pimm Fox and Vonnie Quinn on Bloomberg Radio’s “Taking Stock.”
For the video, click here.
Comings and Goings
Stone Resigns From Accounting Oversight Board After SEC Claims
Mary Stone resigned from the Financial Accounting Foundation’s board of trustees less than two weeks after she was accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of violating her responsibilities in overseeing Morgan Keegan & Co. mutual funds during the credit crisis.
The FAF, which oversees the board that sets U.S. accounting standards, expects to fill Stone’s spot next year, according to a press release from the Norwalk, Connecticut-based organization. Stone, an accounting professor at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, took a leave of absence on Dec. 10, the day the SEC announced its claims against her and seven other former directors of the funds.
The SEC accused the mutual funds’ directors of allowing assets backed by subprime mortgages to be overvalued as the housing market collapsed in 2007. The action followed a related $200 million settlement with Morgan Keegan, a subsidiary of Raymond James Financial Inc. (RJF), last year and sanctions against two employees in 2010.
Stone and five other directors acted “diligently and in good faith” and intend to contest the SEC’s allegations, which they “emphatically deny,” their attorney, Stephen Crimmins of K&L Gates in Washington, said in a Dec. 10 statement. Stone didn’t return a call for comment Dec. 21.
Beswick Appointed SEC Chief Accountant by Agency’s New Chairman
Paul A. Beswick, who has served as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission acting chief accountant for the past several months, was named to the position of chief accountant at the agency Dec. 21 by SEC Chairman Elisse Walter.
The appointment of Beswick was announced in a statement.
sábado, 22 de dezembro de 2012
Compliance: Cultura que gera valor.
Por Fabio de Freitas
Neste sentido, Compliance é uma Cultura Corporativa de geração de valor e não um sujeito sem predicações.
Outro dia li numa rede social uma sugestão de que Compliance seria “o guarda costas da alta administração”. A definição não fora muito apropriada, tanto por se tratar de uma visão superficial do que vem a ser Compliance, quanto pela possibilidade de se criar uma subordinação – quase sempre real no mundo corporativo – das ações de Compliance à alta administração.
Ensejando o embargo da questão, coloquemos alguns pontos a fim de esclarecer possíveis equívocos de interpretação, comuns no mercado onde a figura de Compliance apresenta-se quase sempre sob um prisma distorcido, tanto de quem a promove quanto de quem depende de suas orientações.
Utilizando-se da sugestiva de que “o Compliance é o guarda costas da alta administração”, nota-se primeiramente que negar essa hipótese por erros de semântica parece coerente, por duas razões:
A primeira delas se dá, porque Compliance não é uma pessoa. Portanto não pode ser definido como um substantivo masculino e nem pode assumir papéis numa corporação como se fosse um sujeito sem predicações, ou pelo menos não deveria fazê-lo, embora saiba-se que em sociedades limitadas quase sempre prevalece a opinião do sócio majoritário. Para negação da hipótese, subjazer-se que em sociedades anônimas há certo grau de maturidade no que concerne a aceitação de padrões éticos com níveis de qualidade superiores.
Neste contexto, Compliance significa manter a corporação dentro dos padrões de conduta exigidos pelos órgãos reguladores e, parte deste princípio, garantir – inclusive para a alta administração – tais padrões de conformidade a fim de mitigar riscos de exposição, sanções e prejuízos, tanto para corporação, quanto para os agentes e a sociedade. Com isto, Compliance deve atender aos interesses da corporação dentro e fora de suas fronteiras de negócios e graus hierárquicos, a fim de garantir padrões de conformidade que satisfaçam exigências globais, bem como assumir e promover a missão de criar valor para a corporação e para sociedade como um todo.
Desta exigência é que Compliance não deve ser entendido como um suporte à alta administração; mas parte desta e a envolve com as mesmas obrigações que qualquer colaborador ou agente de negócios tem dentro e fora da companhia. Isto porque, como já dito, Compliance não significa somente seguir padrões estabelecidos pelo colegiado da empresa; mas garantir a conformidade com aqueles que, sob imposição de terceira ordem, podem inferir negativamente nos negócios e colocar a corporação em riscos, sejam eles de sanções, exposição indevida e prejuízos outros que possam de algum modo afetar o maior patrimônio que qualquer corporação séria preza: A confiança dos steakeholders.
A segunda razão vem do fato de que Compliance não deveria ser interpretado a partir dos jargões ouvidos por aí que denotam uma figura muitas vezes demasiadamente interessante; mas quase sempre com um aspecto vilão dentro da corporação, cuja ação principal é causar medo aos colaboradores.
Muito se escutam os dizeres “cuidado com os caras de compliance”, ou, como sugere o debate “guarda costa da alta administração” ou ainda, um departamento repressor das estratégias de negócios, gerador de custos e proibitivo, como se apresentam e são tachadas muitas unidades de Compliance de empresas renomadas.
Compliance, no entanto, nada mais é do que a Cultura Institucional que gera processos e ações que criem valores para a empresa, para seus agentes e para a sociedade a partir da aderência às normas e padrões de negócios pré-estabelecidos. Neste sentido, Compliance é toda ação que gera valor – presente e futuro – por meio da conformidade com padrões, normas, Leis, tratados e acordos entre agentes de interesses comuns. Isto é, cultura que zela pelo presente e busca garantir o futuro, evitando prejuízos de ordem maior, por meio da conformidade.
É esta especificidade de Compliance que solicita cada vez mais das corporações a transparência nos negócios e que exige que essas busquem sua gestão de forma transversal, garantindo o envolvimento de todos na percepção e correção de falhas que possam trazer danos financeiros e morais, não somente para empresa, mas para toda a sociedade. Neste sentindo, Compliance é uma Cultura Corporativa de geração de valor e não um sujeito sem predicações.
Picture source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oenvoyage/