WASHINGTON, April 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it was considering going public with more details of out-of-court settlements.
"Typically, our practice has been not to file in-depth factual findings of the investigation," said Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC's enforcement division.
That practice might change, he said, to give the public a "more fulsome record," of cases that are decided without trial but can end with negotiated settlements -- some very large but with no admission on the company's part that it did anything wrong, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
More involved disclosures of investigations could push more cases to trial, as corporations would be hesitant to settle if embarrassing information was about to be released, Russell Ryan, a securities attorney at King and Spalding, told the Post.
Last fall, federal Judge Jed Rakoff rejected a $33 million SEC settlement with Bank of America, calling it a quid pro quo in which the bank said rough-riding regulators unfairly forced a fine upon it, and the SEC claimed it won a victory against corporate crime.
"And all this is done at the expense, not only of the shareholders, but also of the truth," Rakoff said.
