Enforcement actions levied against brokers by the Securities and Exchange Commission jumped 20% in the first half of 2017's fiscal year, according to Cornerstone Research.
Actions related to issuer reporting and disclosure jumped 34% while actions involving securities offerings also increased by the same percent, according to Cornerstone's proprietary research, SEC Enforcement Activity—First Half FY 2017 Update.
"In the face of uncertainty brought on by changes in SEC leadership and the new administration, enforcement activity continued last year's heightened pace," said David Marcus, senior vice president at Cornerstone Research, in a statement.
The SEC filed 334 total enforcement actions during the first half of FY 2017 (from Oct. 1, 2016–March 31, 2017), compared to 372 during the same period in the previous fiscal year.
Excluding actions against delinquent filers, the number of enforcement actions in the first half of FY 2017 was 299—virtually unchanged from the same period in the prior fiscal year.
