{"title":"Relationship between Financial Advisory Designations and FINRA Misconduct","authors":"Jeffrey Camarda","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2912977","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2912977","url":null,"abstract":"FINRA registered representatives – commission securities salespeople – have come to be known as financial “advisors,” but are not required to generally put customers’ interests ahead of their own compensation and other interests, as are agents of fiduciary Registered Investment Advisors. This distinction is typically not recognized by consumers, and many registered representatives’ employers’ marketing claims encourage this misconception. The respective codes for CFP®, ChFC® and CFA® designees require higher ethical duties to clients than do FINRA rules, including subordinating their interests to clients’. Many such registrants hold these designations. FINRA requires the public disclosure of registrants’ criminal, regulatory, complaint, and other dubious history. This study examines the comparative disclosure magnitude and frequency of undesignated vs. designated registrants in Florida, and finds with high statistical significance that such adverse disclosure materially decreases for those that hold any one of these designees; it incidentally finds that misconduct increases with maleness, dual investment advisor/registered representative status, and life insurance sales licensure. This appears to be the first such study of adverse disclosure associations with financial designations, so adding to the emerging misconduct and advisors’ ethics literature. As the financial advisory profession evolves and regulators seek to enhance practice quality and duties to investors, these findings offer important policy and consumer choice insight.","PeriodicalId":137765,"journal":{"name":"Law & Society: Private Law - Financial Law eJournal","volume":"122 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132073442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Consumer Experiences with Debt Collection: Findings from the CFPB's Survey on Consumer Views on Debt","authors":"Cfpb Office of Research","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3790801","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3790801","url":null,"abstract":"This report presents the results of the Survey of Consumer Views on Debt which was conducted by the CFPB between December 2014 and March 2015. The survey results substantially expand the understanding of debt collection in the United States by providing the first comprehensive and nationally representative data on consumers’ experiences and preferences related to debt collection.<br><br>The survey asked consumers about their experiences, if any, with debt collectors over the past year. For consumers who had such an experience, the survey captured detail on the debt for which they were most recently contacted. In addition, the survey collected data on disputes and lawsuits, preferences for communications with a creditor or collector, and each consumer’s demographic characteristics, general financial situation, and credit-market experiences.","PeriodicalId":137765,"journal":{"name":"Law & Society: Private Law - Financial Law eJournal","volume":"58 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123835223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Catch Me If You Can","authors":"Yoel Hecht, Yevgeny Mugerman","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2942607","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2942607","url":null,"abstract":"Financial crime, often referred to as “white-collar” crime, is a severe issue all around the world. A recent FBI survey found that in the preceding twelve months, approximately one in every four United States citizens had fallen victim to financial crime in one form or another (fraud, money laundering, internal embezzlement, impersonation, forgery, blackmail, theft, etc.). The extent of financial crime in financial services companies over the past decade is (very cautiously) estimated at $100,000,000,000. In Israel, bank and insurance fraud has amounted to 1,000,000,000 ILS over the last ten years. In addition to the enormous reduction in profits, financial crimes in general and internal embezzlement in particular can have a dramatic impact on business organizations, and pose a threat to the continued existence of the organizations they affect. Despite the importance given to the matter by law enforcement agencies, crimes either remain undiscovered or are only discovered too late. Thus, business entities cannot rely upon the police for protection, and, for their own survival, must therefore undertake serious measures to combat financial crime themselves. The purpose of this article is to shed some light on the fight against financial crime, which has undergone significant progress in recent years due to technological developments. This will be done without exposing the full range of methods employed against financial crime.","PeriodicalId":137765,"journal":{"name":"Law & Society: Private Law - Financial Law eJournal","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125634875","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Avoiding the Unavoidable: A Practitioner's Guide to Governmental Creditor Fraudulent Conveyance Actions","authors":"R. McNeill","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.2916412","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.2916412","url":null,"abstract":"The article provides a detailed discussion of potential defenses available to fraudulent conveyance defendants who are targets of section 544 (b) litigation where the triggering creditor is a governmental creditor (under the FDCPA) or the IRS in particular. The article discusses both defenses that have been raised in past cases (successfully or unsuccessfully) and potential defenses based on the requirements of the internal revenue code.","PeriodicalId":137765,"journal":{"name":"Law & Society: Private Law - Financial Law eJournal","volume":"145 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132198368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nigeria: Insolvency Law and Arbitration: Like Oil and Water?","authors":"Dr Kubi Udofia","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2878863","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2878863","url":null,"abstract":"Formal insolvency law proceedings are usually collective and centralised in nature, overriding certain pre-insolvency agreements in order to achieve specific down objective(s) for the benefit of all creditors. In contrast, arbitration favours privity of contracts and party autonomy. Parties’ agreement to arbitrate their dispute is considered as sacrosanct regardless of the circumstances. There is therefore a potential for conflict when a dispute touches on these two regimes. In In re United States Line, 197 F. 3d 631 at 640 (1999), a US court described such as “a conflict of near polar extremes” given that the insolvency policy “exerts an inexorable pull towards centralisation while arbitration policy advocates a decentralised approach towards dispute resolution.” \u0000This article examines the possible legal implications of formal insolvency proceedings on arbitration agreements, as well as the possible impact of arbitration agreements on insolvency proceedings. The analysis is limited to compulsory winding-up proceedings and where the seat of arbitration and the place of opening of insolvency proceeding is Nigeria. Different considerations will apply in cross-border insolvencies and international arbitral proceedings.","PeriodicalId":137765,"journal":{"name":"Law & Society: Private Law - Financial Law eJournal","volume":"275 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125197803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tough Love: The Effects of Debt Contract Design on Firms' Performance","authors":"Ioannis Spyridopoulos","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2551333","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2551333","url":null,"abstract":"I investigate whether restrictive loan covenants disrupt or improve firm operating performance. Using an instrumental variables approach to address the endogenous relationship between covenant strictness and firms' efficiency, I find stricter loan covenants cause an increase in profitability and a reduction in operating cost. Stricter covenants improve performance only in firms with poor governance: those without large shareholder ownership, with weaker shareholder rights, facing softer competition in their product market, or with inside director dominated boards. The evidence is consistent with the view that the design of debt contracts can mitigate agency costs in firms that lack alternative governance mechanisms.","PeriodicalId":137765,"journal":{"name":"Law & Society: Private Law - Financial Law eJournal","volume":"33 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126927619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reappraising Dodd-Frank's Living Will Regime","authors":"David K. Suska","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2849810","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2849810","url":null,"abstract":"In the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, Congress mandated that certain financial institutions draft “orderly resolution plans” — colloquially termed “living wills” — that detail how each institution could be unwound in case of insolvency. This living will regime is now more than five years old. Yet as consequential as it has been and promises to be, scholars have largely ignored it, except to opine that it does not solve the problem of “too big to fail.” This article fills that gap in the literature. It explains the origins of the regime, defends it as a pragmatic feature of post-crisis financial regulatory reform, and proposes amendments to bolster its legitimacy and legality.","PeriodicalId":137765,"journal":{"name":"Law & Society: Private Law - Financial Law eJournal","volume":"49 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114777405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Financial Privacy in a Free Society","authors":"David R. Burton, Norbert J. Michel","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.2992784","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.2992784","url":null,"abstract":"Financial and personal privacy is a key component of life in a free society, where individuals enjoy a private sphere free of government involvement, surveillance, and control. The U.S. financial regulatory framework is largely inconsistent with these ideas, and it is long past the time for fundamentally reforming the information exchange and reporting system that has grown over the past three decades. The current regulatory regime is overly complex and burdensome, and its ad hoc nature has likely impeded efforts to combat terrorism, enforce laws, and collect taxes. To better meet the needs of the citizens these laws are meant to serve, regulators must develop better information about the costs and benefits of the current regime, especially given that the current framework appears grossly cost ineffective. This paper provides a quantitative estimate of the cost of the current AML regime, recommends seven reforms to move the U.S. toward an improved financial privacy regime that protects individuals’ privacy rights while improving law enforcement’s ability to apprehend and prosecute criminals and terrorists.","PeriodicalId":137765,"journal":{"name":"Law & Society: Private Law - Financial Law eJournal","volume":"3 2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128153638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Legislative Approaches for Regulation of the Bankruptcy: State and Prospects","authors":"Margarita Bachvarova","doi":"10.11114/BMS.V2I3.1807","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11114/BMS.V2I3.1807","url":null,"abstract":"The present article is a comprehensive research focused on the issue of legislative approaches for regulation of bankruptcy in individual countries. The occurrence of economic crises and the globalization in international relations put forward the issue of preserving viable enterprises regardless of any financial hardships arisen and any risk of initiating a court procedure of bankruptcy. The establishment of updated legislation is inextricably bound up with the building up of a theoretical concept of insolvency based on the contemporary doctrinal achievements and practice. The comparative legal analysis of regulations shows the efforts put in science for the creation of a common concept and approach to bankruptcy issues. In this relation, the subject of scientific and research interest are the characteristic features of the legal regulations for handling insolvency in individual countries, determined by their belonging to the two main legal systems: the system of common law and the continental legal system (civil law). The scientific thesis in the present study is that regardless of the specific features of the historical and legal regulation of the bankruptcy concept, currently, a process of introducing rehabilitation procedures of the US legislation (Chapter 11 of Bankruptcy Code) into the individual legal systems of a number of countries in Europe is going on. In this sense, a trend is arising of applying a single legislative approach related to the concept of fresh start of conscientious entrepreneurs and an opportunity of sanitation of their enterprises before the initiation of formal judicial proceedings of bankruptcy on the basis of mutual concessions and compromises made by the creditors.","PeriodicalId":137765,"journal":{"name":"Law & Society: Private Law - Financial Law eJournal","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133220662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reconceptualizing the Regulation of Global Finance","authors":"Ross P. Buckley","doi":"10.1093/OJLS/GQV023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OJLS/GQV023","url":null,"abstract":"The post-crisis reforms to the global financial system may serve us well if the next crisis is 2008 revisited. But it will not be. So instead of preparing to fight the last war, this paper analyses the five major changes in the global financial system in the past 40 years, and explores potential regulatory responses that could make the system more stable and resilient. These changes include (i) the globalisation of the global financial system; (ii) the legalisation of financial gambling; (iii) the rise in algorithmic and high frequency trading and in dark pools; (iv) the fundamental changes in banks and bankers; and (v) the rise in the role and power of ratings agencies. The potential responses to these changes include (i) a sovereign bankruptcy regime; (ii) higher mandated capital levels for banks; (iii) levies on banks; (iv) a financial transactions tax; (v) rigorous regulation of high frequency trading and dark pools; and (vi) removing the conflict in the role of the ratings agencies.","PeriodicalId":137765,"journal":{"name":"Law & Society: Private Law - Financial Law eJournal","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129929441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}