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

Task Force on Commercial Litigation in the 21st Century

As the Commercial Division of the New York Supreme Court approaches its twentieth anniversary in a significantly changed world, the Chief Judge constituted this Task Force to ensure that the New York Judiciary helps our State retain its role as the preeminent financial and commercial center of the world. The rule of law and the […]

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FSB Reports Regulatory Reform Is Advancing, But Slowly

On June 19, 2012, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) issued a progress report to the G20 Leaders on the steps FSB member nations have taken to implement financial reforms designed to improve the stability of the global financial system. The FSB reviewed, among other things, its members’ Basel implementation, adoption of resolution-planning regimes, oversight of […]

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Posted in Financial Regulation, International Corporate Governance & Regulation, Practitioner Publications, Securities Regulation | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Pension System and the Rise of Shareholder Primacy

In the paper, The Pension System and the Rise of Shareholder Primacy, which was recently made publicly available on SSRN, I explore the influence of the pension system on corporate governance, particularly shareholder primacy and the relationship between corporations and their employees. Today it is widely accepted among business managers, scholars of corporate law and […]

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Posted in Academic Research, Boards of Directors, Comparative Corporate Governance & Regulation, Institutional Investors | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Online Shareholder Participation in Annual Meetings

Introduction It is a generally accepted cornerstone of sound corporate governance that shareholder participation is a key component of a successful annual meeting of shareholders. State laws require companies to hold annual meetings of their shareholders to elect directors and act upon other matters properly brought before the meeting. From a governance perspective, the annual […]

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Posted in Corporate Elections & Voting, Institutional Investors, Practitioner Publications | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

SEC Approves FINRA Private Placement Rule

On June 7, 2012, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved FINRA Rule 5123 governing regulation of broker-dealer participation in private placements of securities. The new rule will require member firms to file certain disclosure documents and material amendments to previous disclosure documents with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). Introduction On June […]

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Posted in Practitioner Publications, Securities Regulation | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

CFTC’s Expanded Jurisdiction Over Swaps May Capture Certain REITs

As a result of the pending expansion of the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to include most swaps, some publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) may soon be considered “commodity pools” whose directors or trustees would be subject to CFTC regulation as commodity pool operators (CPOs) and whose investment managers could […]

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U.K. Announces Proposals Intended to Curb Executive Compensation

On June 20, 2012, the U.K. Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Vince Cable announced a package of proposals following the U.K. government’s publication of a consultation paper in March and a consultation period that ended in April. The proposed measures, intended to curb executive pay, include: a binding shareholder vote on the […]

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Posted in Executive Compensation, International Corporate Governance & Regulation, Practitioner Publications | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

CEO Overconfidence and International Merger and Acquisition Activity

In the paper, CEO Overconfidence and International Merger and Acquisition Activity, forthcoming in the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, we examine the role that CEO overconfidence plays in an explanation of international mergers and acquisitions during the period 2000-2006. Although the causes and performance of mergers have been extensively examined in the literature, few […]

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Posted in Academic Research, Empirical Research, Institutional Investors, Mergers & Acquisitions | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Deferred Underwriting Compensation in Public Offerings

FINRA proposes to amend Rule 5110, the Corporate Financing Rule, to permit a broader range of deferred compensation arrangements between member firms and issuers regarding future public offerings, provided the arrangements meet two significant new requirements. [1] Under the proposal, engagement letters for underwriting and financial advisory services will be permitted to include termination fees […]

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OCC Lending Limit Rules

On June 20, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) issued interim final rules (including both the interim final rule and the preamble, the “Lending Limit Release”) to implement Section 610 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”). Section 610 expands the statutory definition of “loans and extensions of […]

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Posted in Financial Regulation, Practitioner Publications, Securities Regulation | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment