Author Archives: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation

Preferential Treatment and the Rise of Individualized Investing in Private Equity

Preferential treatment of investors is more common than ever in today’s private equity industry, thanks in part to new structures that make it easier to grant different terms to different investors. Traditionally, private equity managers raised almost all of their capital through “pooled” funds whereby the capital of many investors was aggregated into a single […]

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US Regulators’ Bonus Compensation Proposal

[On April 21, 2016], the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) became the first of six federal regulatory agencies to repropose the long-awaited bonus compensation rule that will apply to banks, asset managers, broker-dealers, and other financial institutions. [1] The issuance follows an earlier joint proposal released in April 2011 to establish limitations on the timing—but […]

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Omnicare, Legal Risk Disclosure and Corporate Governance

The Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Omnicare Inc. v. Laborers District Council Construction Industry Pension Fund is an extended exercise in corporate discourse theory. Omnicare’s registration statement for a public offering under the Securities Act of 1933 stated the company’s belief that its marketing practices to certain kinds of pharmacies were lawful. Later the government […]

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The Economics and Finance of Hedge Funds

Critics of hedge funds often label hedge funds as greedy, corrupt, and highly compensated villains who disrupt and pose a threat to financial markets and force corporations to change to policies that destroy firm value. Proponents of hedge funds view them as informed traders who improve market quality and corporate governance. Despite these opposing views, […]

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Articles by Bebchuk, Coates and Fried Voted to be Among the Top Ten Corporate and Securities Articles of 2015

The Corporate Practice Commentator announced last week the list of the Ten Best Corporate and Securities Articles selected by an annual poll of corporate and securities law academics. The list includes three articles from Harvard Law faculty associated with the Program on Corporate Governance, Professors Lucian Bebchuk, John Coates, and Jesse Fried. The top ten articles […]

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Rollout of Proposed Rule on Incentive Pay

[On April 21, 2016], the National Credit Union Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking for a new interagency rule on incentive-based compensation that applies to financial institutions with consolidated assets of at least $1 billion. This new proposal replaces one originally issued 5 years ago in the first half of 2011. The Board of Governors […]

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SEC Scrutiny of Secondary Market Trading

In an unprecedented one-day blitz, the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission was joined by the SEC Enforcement Director in events in Silicon Valley and San Francisco on March 31 focused on one message: the SEC is closely watching the conduct of private companies as well as emerging platforms that trade in private company […]

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The Governance Gap in Fragmented Markets

The firestorm of controversy surrounding IEX’s efforts to gain recognition as a national exchange showcases the enormous economic and popular power of exchanges in the marketplace. [1] Exchanges have long offered an organized space for companies to list their securities and for traders to transact in the risk of these securities with one another, ultimately […]

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Key Points from the OCC’s Financial Innovation Paper

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released its highly anticipated white paper on financial technology innovation last week. The agency offered few details regarding its supervisory approach, but it did tip its hand regarding its areas of interest, which include banks’ risk management practices, relationships with third parties, and consumer protection and […]

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Brexit: Possible Options and Impact

The UK is holding a referendum on 23 June 2016 to decide whether or not to remain a member of the European Union. There seems to be a disconnect between some aspects of public discourse on the vote and the actual effect of an in or out vote. A vote to leave would have numerous […]

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Posted in Banking & Financial Institutions, Comparative Corporate Governance & Regulation, Financial Regulation, International Corporate Governance & Regulation, Practitioner Publications | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Brexit: Possible Options and Impact