SEC Penalties Hit Lowest Level Since 2008 Crisis
The Securities and Exchange Commission collected $1.1 billion in penalties last fiscal year, the lowest total since 2008 amid a deregulatory shift.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission collected $1.1 billion in penalties during the last federal fiscal year, the lowest total since the 2008 financial crisis. The agency filed 348 enforcement actions, roughly half of the 634-action annual average recorded over the previous decade.
This decline follows a deregulatory shift under the Trump administration, which prioritized new stock trading methods and easier capital raising. Under Chairman Paul Atkins, the agency renounced several Biden-era enforcement actions, including most cryptocurrency lawsuits and cases against executives who received presidential pardons.
Chairman Paul Atkins stated that financial remedies are not the only or most telling measures of activity. Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized the precipitous drop in enforcement, stating that the new Democratic majority in Congress will closely scrutinize whether the agency is protecting the American people.
