The White House has proposed that the Securities and Exchange Commission should get a 28% budget increase for fiscal year 2012 to $1.4 billion.
Lots of Wall Street sycophants have criticized this number, including members of the House of Representatives — they want to slash the proposed SEC budget by nearly 30%.
Last moth, Halah Touryalai put the $1.4 SEC billion budget into context, comparing it versus the following Wall Street spendings:
1. Bank of America spent over $2 billion on marketing in 2010.
2. JPMorgan’s litigation reserves: $4 billion (Q3 2010)
3. Goldman Sachs Q4 2010 compensation and benefits: $2.3 billion
4. Note that Goldman Sach’s $550million fine last year was about HALF of the SEC’s proposed budget.
5. JPM spent $1.2 billion in Q4 2010 on technology, communications and equipment expenses.
6. As a reward for Bank of America’s purchase of Merrill Lynch’s rotting carcass, the government gave it a $20 billlion TARP loan.
7. Citi’s marketing and advertising cost the bank $1.6 billion in 2010.
8. The SEC now must regulate hedge funds, manage their registration, etc. In Q4 2010, the hedge fund industry added $149 billion in new assets.
9. AIG recieved loans, guarantees and bailouts worth $185 billion dollars.
10. Cheers! Americans spent $4.7 billion on beer, wine and liquor in the month of December 2010.
As we have noted many times in the past, the SEC has been kept defective as a matter of policy.
>
Previously:
SEC: Defective by Design? (March 2010)
Sources:
10 Wall Street Expenses That Make The SEC’s Budget Look Pathetic
Halah Touryalai
Forbes Feb. 17 2011
http://blogs.forbes.com/halahtouryalai/2011/02/17/10-wall-street-expenses-that-make-the-secs-budget-look-pathetic/
SEC budget puts it in league with Goldman’s marketing dept.
Aaron Elstein
Crains February 14, 2011
http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/in_the_markets/2011/02/sec-budget-puts-in-league-with-goldmans-marketing-dept.php
What's been said:
Discussions found on the web: