SEC enforcement actions dropped in 2024: Report

The 80 enforcement actions filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against public companies and their subsidiaries during fiscal 2024 was a 12% decrease from the prior fiscal year, but total settlements grew to $1.5 billion, according to a report issued Thursday by Cornerstone Research and the New York University Pollack Center for Law & Business.

Despite the drop, the number of filings still increased 5% compared with the nine-year historical average. Notably, 38 enforcement actions resulted from sweeps for recordkeeping failures stemming from companies’ use of off-channel communications and violations of the whistleblower protection rule, the report said.

The SEC also brought more cases involving admissions of guilt compared with prior years, and 34 settled cases included admissions of guilt, the report said.

While total monetary settlements increased compared with 2023, the amount was below the $1.8 billion average between 2015 and 2023. The average settlement per case was $19.8 million, an increase from the $15 million of the prior year, the report said.

Cooperation by defendant companies in settled cases increased to 75%, the report said.

The researchers used data from the Securities Enforcement Empirical Database for their findings.