Regulation

The American Institute of CPAs has told the Securities and Exchange Commission that accountants need an adequate transition period if the SEC decides next year to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards into the U.S. financial reporting system.

Angelo Mozilo, the former chief executive of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, has agreed to pay $22.5 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the largest-ever financial penalty for a public company senior executive.

Aim is to help investors readily compare fees.

France, Germany and others, meanwhile, are uncomfortable with the powers of the EU’s new securities regulator.

Under existing rules, a bank with a 4 or 5 Camels rating cannot make such payments to parties terminating their affiliation with the institution.

Nanex challenges SEC report that points to Waddell & Reed.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said Wednesday the growing robo-signing scandal was symptomatic of the poor incentives that marred the securitization market, but she opposed a universal freeze on foreclosures.

New York firm investigates arbitration claims as independent broker-dealer undergoes hearings on Massachusetts charges

The Internal Revenue Service has issued final regulations under a law change that will require reporting of basis and other information by stock brokers and mutual fund companies for most stock purchased in 2011 and all stock purchased in 2012 and later years, making it easier for investors to report their gains and losses next year on their tax returns.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a new rule, based on requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, that would help those managing their own family's financial portfolios determine whether their “family offices” can continue to be excluded from the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.