Two U.S. Senators Propose Letting SEC Impose Bigger Penalties

U.S. senators Jack Reed and Charles Grassley introduced a bill to authorize the Securities and Exchange Commission to impose bigger sanctions after the agency said it didn’t have adequate tools to deter financial fraud. Under the proposed legislation, fines against individuals would be capped at $1 million per violation instead of $150,000 and penalties for firms would be limited to $10 million from $725,000 for each misdeed, according to a joint statement today by Reed, the Rhode Island Democrat who leads a subcommittee that oversees the SEC, and Grassley, the Iowa Republican. Read more on Bloomberg Businessweek here.