Enforcement activity increased again in fiscal year 2016, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) continued to pursue a broad agenda. Consistent with former Chair Mary Jo White’s “broken windows” enforcement policy, the Division of Enforcement brought actions “that spanned the spectrum of the securities industry.” In total, the SEC brought 868 enforcement actions, the most in the agency’s history. Of the 868 actions, 548 were “stand alone” cases, another SEC record. The actions resulted in over $4 billion in disgorgement and penalties, down just slightly from fiscal year 2015’s record of $4.19 billion.
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