subject: U.s. Securities And Exchange Commission [print this page] U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, commonly known as the SEC, is and independent agency of the United States government which primarily holds responsibility for enhancing the federal securities laws and regulates the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets. This institution is very crucial when it comes to investigating and controlling companies which are not willing to play according the rules.
The commission was founded during the Great depression as a result of the stock exchange crash in 1929. The main incentive for the creation of the commission was to regulate the stock market and prevent corporate abuses connected to the offering and sale of securities. The commission gained the power to license and regulate stock exchanges, the companies whose securities were traded on them, and the brokers and dealers who conducted the trading.
Although the commission was established, many companies, who went public and whose securities were traded since the Great depression, tried to avoid the rules and committed numerous kinds of frauds and scams. Most of these companies were big players, such as oil companies and different financial institutions, affecting the national economy performance and therefore contributing to its instability.
Currently, the commission is responsible for controlling seven major laws related to the securities industry. The commission is also allowed to bring civil enforcement actions against individuals or companies that might have committed accounting fraud, provided false information or engaged in insider trading or other violations of the law such as the case of Gulf coast western scam. In addition, the commission works really close with criminal law enforcement agencies to prosecute individuals and companies for any criminal violations.
by: davenjacks
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