SEC Transforms Settlements by Allowing Defendants to Make Their Case to the Public

After nearly 55 years of consistent practice, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rescinded its no-deny settlement policy. SEC Rule 202.5(e) has long made the Commission an outlier among federal agencies: defendants who settle enforcement actions are not permitted to make “any public statement denying, directly or indirectly, any allegation in the complaint or creating the impression that the complaint is without factual basis.”... By: Ice Miller