non-Certified Internal Auditor |

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-141

Washington, D.C., July 14, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance today announced the selection of Greg Burton as the Academic Accounting Fellow for a one-year term beginning this month.

“The value of the Academic Accounting Fellow program becomes more evident as we address more complex accounting and reporting issues. I am delighted that Greg will be joining us, and our accounting staff looks forward to working with him,” said Wayne Carnall, Chief Accountant in the Division of Corporation Finance.

Mr. Burton is the Deloitte & Touche Fellow and Associate Professor of Accounting at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he teaches auditing, risks and controls, and international business at both the undergraduate and graduate level. He has been honored with several teaching awards, and has published in Contemporary Accounting Research, Accounting Organizations and Society, Research in Accounting Regulation, and the Journal of Information Systems. His research spans fraud, market behavior, audit, and international accounting topics. Mr. Burton earned a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina and both bachelors and masters degrees from Utah State University. In addition to his academic qualifications, he has professional experience with KPMG, most recently as a senior manager in the firm’s Los Angeles office.

Academic Accounting Fellows in the Division of Corporation Finance serve as a research resource for the staff on current financial reporting and auditing issues. In addition, Academic Fellows work with the Division staff to address issues involving difficult and unusual accounting, auditing and financial reporting questions, participate in rulemaking projects, and review filings by public companies to identify significant accounting and disclosure problems.

Cheryl Linthicum, the outgoing Academic Accounting Fellow, is Associate Professor of Accounting at the University of Texas in San Antonio. While at the Commission, Ms. Linthicum worked on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) related issues, including filing reviews and staff training, and assisted in addressing a number of policy initiatives.

“Cheryl was a valuable member of our team and made a significant contribution to our mission during her tenure,” said Mr. Carnall.

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-141.htm

Source: SEC site

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-134

Washington, D.C., July 7, 2008 — Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Chairman Ben Bernanke today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two agencies that will deepen their information sharing and cooperation, permitting both agencies to better perform their responsibilities.

Under the MOU between the two agencies, theSecurity Exchange Commissionand the Board would share information and cooperate across a number of important areas of common interest including anti-money laundering, bank brokerage activities under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, clearance and settlement in the banking and securities industries, and the regulation of transfer agents. The MOU specifically covers bank holding companies and so-called Consolidated Supervised Entities that own securities firms. It builds on and formalizes the long-standing cooperative arrangements between theSecurity Exchange Commissionand the Board, as well as the more recent cooperation on matters including banking and investment banking capital and liquidity following the Board’s emergency opening of credit facilities to primary dealers.

“I am pleased with this agreement,” said Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke. “It formalizes and strengthens the ongoing cooperation between our two agencies to enhance the stability of the financial system. I look forward to continuing this productive collaboration with Chairman Cox and his staff.”

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said, “This agreement represents a valuable coordination of the roles of theSecurity Exchange Commissionand the Fed in our capital markets. Years ago, when the dividing lines between commercial and investment banking were bright, the high level of coordination we are establishing today was not a priority for the U.S. government. But today, the interconnectedness of mortgage and lending markets, credit derivatives, securitizations, and counterparty relationships requires the U.S. government to adopt a more coherent and coordinated approach. Just as with our similar arrangement with the CFTC, this agreement will permit the expanded sharing of information on a confidential basis, and help ensure that regulated entities receive a coherent message from Uncle Sam. This is smart government. We look forward to enhancing our collaborative relationship with the Fed within the formal framework covered by the agreement.”

The MOU will improve the ability of theSecurity Exchange Commissionto perform its role as primary supervisor of Consolidated Supervised Entities and Primary Dealers, and improve the ability of the Federal Reserve to perform its role in overseeing the stability of the financial system. The importance of this deepened cooperation is highlighted by the recent stress in the financial markets affecting commercial and investment banks, as well as many other market participants.

TheSecurity Exchange Commissionrecently entered into a similar MOU with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. An agreement between theSecurity Exchange Commissionand the Department of Labor is anticipated later this summer.

# # #

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-134.htm

Source: SEC site

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-135

Video of the Credit Rating Agency Reform News Conference:
WindowsMedia (coming)
RealMedia
WindowsMedia captioned
RealMedia captioned

---

Examination Report

Washington, D.C., July 8, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today released findings from extensive 10-month examinations of three major credit rating agencies that uncovered significant weaknesses in ratings practices and the need for remedial action by the firms to provide meaningful ratings and the necessary levels of disclosure to investors.

Under new statutory authority from Congress that enabled theSecurity Exchange Commissionto register and examine credit rating agencies, the agency’s staff conducted examinations of Fitch Ratings Ltd., Moody’s Investor Services Inc., and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services to evaluate whether they are adhering to their published methodologies for determining ratings and managing conflicts of interest. With the recent subprime market turmoil, theSecurity Exchange Commissionhas been particularly interested in the rating agencies’ policies and practices in rating mortgage-backed securities and the impartiality of their ratings.

TheSecurity Exchange Commissionstaff’s examinations found that rating agencies struggled significantly with the increase in the number and complexity of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDO) deals since 2002. The examinations uncovered that none of the rating agencies examined had specific written comprehensive procedures for rating RMBS and CDOs. Furthermore, significant aspects of the rating process were not always disclosed or even documented by the firms, and conflicts of interest were not always managed appropriately.

“We’ve uncovered serious shortcomings at these firms, including a lack of disclosure to investors and the public, a lack of policies and procedures to manage the rating process, and insufficient attention to conflicts of interest,” saidSecurity Exchange CommissionChairman Christopher Cox. “When the firms didn’t have enough staff to do the job right, they often cut corners. That’s the bad news. There’s also good news. And that’s that the problems are being fixed in real time. The recent events affecting our economy and our markets have galvanized regulators around the world to re-examine the regulatory framework governing credit rating agencies, but ultimately the responsibility for providing meaningful ratings to investors begins with the credit rating firms themselves.”

Lori Richards, Director of the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, said, “These examinations found shortcomings in the ratings processes used by each of the firms examined. The firms have all agreed to implement broad reforms to address the letter and the spirit of the findings, to better ensure that investors can have confidence in their ratings.”

The Summary Report of Issues Identified in the Commission Staff’s Examinations of Select Credit Rating Agencies describes the significant weaknesses in the rating agencies’ processes in rating subprime RMBS and CDOs linked to subprime residential mortgage-backed securities from January 2004 to the present.

Specifically, the examinations found:

• There was a substantial increase in the number and in the complexity of RMBS and CDO deals since 2002, and some of the rating agencies appear to have struggled with the growth.
• Significant aspects of the ratings process were not always disclosed.
   
• Policies and procedures for rating RMBS and CDOs can be better documented.
   
• The rating agencies are implementing new practices with respect to the information provided to them.
   
• The rating agencies did not always document significant steps in the ratings process - including the rationale for deviations from their models and for rating committee actions and decisions - and they did not always document significant participants in the ratings process.
   
• The surveillance processes used by the rating agencies appear to have been less robust than the processes used for initial ratings.
   
• Issues were identified in the management of conflicts of interest and improvements can be made.
   
• The rating agencies’ internal audit processes varied significantly.

The examinations were conducted by staff in the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, Division of Trading and Markets, and Office of Economic Analysis. The report summarizes generally the remedial actions that credit rating agencies are expected to take as a result of the examinations, and includes observations by the SEC’s Office of Economic Analysis about conflicts of interest that are unique to these products. A factual summary of the models and methodologies used by the rating agencies is provided in the report to provide transparency to the ratings process and the activities of the rating agencies in connection with the recent subprime mortgage turmoil.

TheSecurity Exchange Commissionlast month proposed a three-fold set of comprehensive reforms to regulate the conflicts of interests, disclosures, internal policies, and business practices of credit rating agencies. The first portion of rulemaking would address conflicts of interest in the credit ratings industry and require new disclosures designed to increase the transparency and accountability of credit ratings agencies. The second portion would require credit rating agencies to differentiate the ratings they issue on structured products from those they issue on bonds through the use of different symbols or by issuing a report disclosing the differences. The third part of the SEC’s proposed rulemaking would clarify for investors the limits and purposes of credit ratings and ensure that the role assigned to ratings inSecurity Exchange Commissionrules is consistent with the objectives of having investors make an independent judgment of credit risks.

# # #

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-135.htm

Source: SEC site

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-132

Washington, D.C., July 3, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that Dr. Stewart Mayhew has been promoted to Deputy Chief Economist in the agency’s Office of Economic Analysis.

Dr. Mayhew joined theSecurity Exchange Commissionstaff in 2002 as a Visiting Academic Scholar, and since 2004 has served as an Assistant Chief Economist, leading a group that provides economic analysis and support for the SEC’s Division of Investment Management, Division of Trading and Markets, and Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations. His promotion to Deputy Chief Economist is effective immediately.

“Dr. Mayhew is an exceptionally accomplished professional whose leadership in every aspect of the Commission’s economic analysis will benefit America’s investors and our markets,” saidSecurity Exchange CommissionChairman Christopher Cox. “His work has exemplified the SEC’s commitment to securities regulation fully informed by the best available empirical evidence. He is perfectly suited for this important new role.”

SEC Chief Economist Dr. James Overdahl added, “I look forward to working with Stewart in his new role. Stewart’s background and skills make him perfectly suited to help ensure that Commission’s rulemaking, policymaking, market oversight, and enforcement functions fully integrate rigorous economic analysis.”

Dr. Mayhew earned a Ph.D. in finance from the University of California, Berkeley in 1996. Prior to joining theSecurity Exchange Commissionstaff, he served on the faculty of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia and the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University. Dr. Mayhew has published numerous academic articles in such publications as the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and the Journal of Futures Markets.

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-132.htm

Source: SEC site

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-133

Washington, D.C., July 3, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today published a final rule and new interpretive guidance to improve the rulemaking process for exchanges and other self-regulatory organizations (SROs) that operate underSecurity Exchange Commissionoversight.

The Commission voted unanimously on June 25, 2008, to approve the final rule and issue the guidance to help increase the competitiveness of U.S. markets, the speed with which new products and services can be made available to investors, and the effectiveness of measures designed to protect investors.

Over the past decade, major securities markets have transformed themselves from member-owned quasi-utilities into shareholder-owned, for-profit, multi-national businesses, and technology has revolutionized securities trading. Trades are now measured in milliseconds, and competitive decision making in the marketplace is urgent and immediate. This era of high-tech, global, and competitive exchanges has put an even greater premium on theSecurity Exchange Commissionreviewing the rule proposals of SROs in a timely manner.

“Exchanges are competing with one another to provide more products to more investors more efficiently than ever before,” saidSecurity Exchange CommissionChairman Christopher Cox. “But exchanges today also need to be able to change their rules quickly to respond to investors’ needs in this competitive environment. These changes in the SEC’s internal procedures should help strengthen the protection of investors who reap the benefits of healthier and more competitive markets.”

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, when a proposed rule change is submitted by an SRO for Commission review, the Commission is required to approve it or institute proceedings to disapprove it within 35 days of its publication. This 35-day deadline can be extended for up to 90 days in certain cases.

To address concerns from market participants and others about rule-processing delays, the Commission has proposed to amend its internal rules of procedure to require that any proposed rule change filed by an SRO for review be published within 15 business days. In the rare instance when a rule change is unusually complex or raised novel issues, the Director of the Division of Trading and Markets would be able to make exceptions to this 15-day requirement.

The Commission also is issuing new interpretive guidance to elaborate on the Commission’s views regarding proposed rule changes that may properly be filed for immediate effectiveness, and specifically, those proposed rule changes filed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 19b-4(f)(6), under which “non-controversial” rule changes may be filed.

First, the guidance would address the proposed changes to rules governing exchange trading systems that could be filed for immediate effectiveness. If these changes implicated any policy issues, they would have to be addressed consistently with how the Commission has dealt with them in the past. The guidance provides many helpful examples in this regard.

Additional changes that also could be filed for immediate effectiveness would include:

• Those relating to an SRO’s minor rule violation plan.
   
• So-called “copycat” rule filings relating to proposed rule changes other than trading rules.

The guidance and rules will be effective upon their publication in the Federal Register.

* * *

The full text of the final rule and the new interpretive guidance has been posted to theSecurity Exchange CommissionWeb site.

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-133.htm

Source: SEC site

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-130

Washington, D.C., July 2, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the panelists and agenda for its July 9 roundtable on fair value accounting and auditing standards.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox will begin the roundtable with opening remarks at 9 a.m. ET. The roundtable will be organized into two panels. The first panel will focus on fair value accounting issues from the perspective of larger financial institutions and the needs of their investors. The second panel will discuss these issues from the perspective of all public companies, including small public companies, and the needs of their investors.

The following panelists are scheduled to participate and discuss topics related to the benefits and potential challenges associated with existing fair value accounting and auditing standards.

9:15 a.m. — Panel One: Large Financial Institutions

• Jane B. Adams, Maverick Capital
• Russell B. Mallett, III, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
• Kathy Petroni, Michigan State University
• Joseph Price, Bank of America Corporation
• Kurt N. Schacht, CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity
• Matthew Schroeder, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
• James S. Tisch, Loews Corporation

11 a.m. — Panel Two: All Public Companies

• Leonard W. Cotton, Centerline Capital Group
• Sam Gutterman, American Academy of Actuaries
• Charles Holm, Federal Reserve Bank
• Gary R. Kabureck, Xerox Corporation
• Kenneth B. Robins, Fidelity Investments — Equity and High Income Funds
• R. Harold Schroeder, Carlson Capital
• Wes Williams, Crowe Chizek and Company LLC
• John B. Wojcik, Bank of the West

In addition, the following individuals are scheduled to participate in both panel discussions as observers:

• Thomas J. Linsmeier, Financial Accounting Standards Board
• James J Leisenring, International Accounting Standards Board
• Mark W. Olson, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board

The roundtable will take place on July 9, 2008, from 9 a.m. to approximately 12:30 p.m. ET at the SEC’s headquarters, 100 F Street N.E., Washington D.C. The roundtable will be open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-serve basis. Doors will open at 8:30 a.m. ET. Visitors will be subject to security checks.

Real-time audio and video webcasts will be available on theSecurity Exchange CommissionWeb site at www.sec.gov.

For additional information, please contact John Heine in the SEC’s Office of Public Affairs at 202-551-4123.

# # #

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-130.htm

Source: SEC site

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-131

Washington, D.C., July 2, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that Jacob H. Stillman, the SEC’s Solicitor, has been selected to receive the Federal Bar Association’s 48th Annual Justice Tom C. Clark Award for Outstanding Government Attorney.

Mr. Stillman joined theSecurity Exchange Commissionin 1962 as a staff attorney in the Office of the General Counsel. He has since held various positions of increasing responsibility in that office. As Solicitor, a position that he has held since 1999, Mr. Stillman supervises the Commission’s appellate litigation staff. Among his other responsibilities, Mr. Stillman represents the Commission in cases heard before courts of appeals and (in conjunction with the Solicitor General) before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Jake is truly deserving of this prestigious award. Just as he has endowed theSecurity Exchange Commissionwith his wisdom and expertise for so many years, now he is burnishing its reputation through his own achievements and the exceptional recognition that he has earned,” saidSecurity Exchange CommissionChairman Christopher Cox. “For nearly half a century, Jake has served the American people with great distinction — as a skilled advocate in the courts, a valued advisor to the Commission, and a leading contributor to the development of the federal securities laws. I am pleased to join my fellow Commissioners and all of theSecurity Exchange Commissionstaff in congratulating him for this outstanding honor.”

Brian Cartwright, the SEC’s General Counsel, added, “Jake Stillman is a living legend among securities lawyers, both inside and outside the Commission. His expertise and experience are unparalleled. Those of us who work beside Jake feel honored and humbled to be able to do so. No one could more truly deserve this high honor.”

Before joining theSecurity Exchange Commissionstaff, Mr. Stillman clerked for Judge Harry E. Kalodner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and served as an officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Army. Mr. Stillman graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1958.

The Justice Tom C. Clark Award recognizes the outstanding accomplishments by lawyers during their service in the federal government or District of Columbia government. The award bears the name of Justice Tom C. Clark, a former Federal Bar Association president and government attorney who served as U.S. Attorney General and later as a Supreme Court justice.

Mr. Stillman joins four formerSecurity Exchange Commissionlawyers who also have received the Justice Tom C. Clark Award: Philip A. Loomis, Jr., Paul Gonson, William R. McLucas, and Stanley Sporkin.

# # #

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-131.htm

Source: SEC site

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-128

Washington, D.C., July 1, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Microtune, Inc. and two former senior officers for perpetrating a fraudulent and deceptive stock option backdating scheme that awarded themselves and other employees millions of dollars in undisclosed compensation. The backdating scheme caused the Plano, Texas-based technology company to file false and misleading financial statements.

The SEC’s complaint, filed June 30 in the federal district court for the Northern District of Texas, alleges that former Microtune Chairman and CEO Douglas J. Bartek, with assistance from former Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel Nancy Richardson, routinely misrepresented the date on which he granted stock options to senior executives and other employees. To conceal the alleged scheme, Bartek directed others to backdate employment records, including offer letters, to establish falsified start dates and grant dates that preceded the actual dates when the new hires began working for Microtune.

Microtune has agreed to settle the SEC’s charges. The SEC’s case against Bartek and Richardson continues, with the Commission seeking financial penalties and other relief under the “clawback” provision (Section 304) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to deprive corporate executives of money that they wrongfully earned while their companies were misleading investors.

“This action reaffirms our commitment to pursue those who perpetrate financial fraud and the corporate gatekeepers who allow it to happen on their watch,” said Rose Romero, Director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office. “The alleged array of fraudulent conduct by Microtune’s former officers, including the backdating of nearly every new-hire stock option grant, and backdating of large block grants, deprived the market of accurate information regarding executive compensation and the company’s accounting for stock options.”

According to the SEC’s complaint, the undisclosed backdating scheme ensured that the options falsely appeared to have been granted on dates in the past corresponding to low stock prices, thus resulting in potentially lucrative “in-the-money” options granted at below fair market value. TheSecurity Exchange Commissionalleges that rather than report compensation expense to shareholders, as required at the time by U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Bartek and Richardson falsified or directed others to falsify stock option records to make it appear that the backdated options were granted as of the backdated date, and therefore “at-the-money.”

The SEC’s complaint further alleges that Bartek and Richardson caused Microtune to grant backdated options, cancelling those options after the company’s stock price dropped precipitously, and subsequently re-granting the same options at a substantially lower exercise price. According to the SEC’s complaint, the re-grants were not, as required, accounted for using variable accounting, in part because Richardson and Bartek allegedly concealed the nature of the re-grants from Microtune’s outside auditors and others.

Microtune, without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, has agreed to settle the matter by consenting to a permanent injunction against violations of the antifraud, financial reporting, books and records, internal controls and proxy provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC’s settlement with Microtune was based in part on Microtune’s swift and extraordinary cooperation in the SEC’s investigation.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Bartek and Richardson violated or aided and abetted violations of the antifraud, financial reporting, books and records, internal controls, lying to auditors, and proxy provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint also alleges that Bartek and Richardson violated Exchange Act Rule 13a-14 by signing certifications required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that were false and misleading. The Commission seeks against Bartek and Richardson injunctive relief, disgorgement of wrongful profits, civil monetary penalties, officer and director bars, and reimbursement of profits from stock sales pursuant to Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

# # #

For more information, contact:

Stephen J. Korotash
Associate Director, SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office
(817) 978-6490

Jeffrey A. Cohen
Assistant Director, SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office
(817) 978-6480

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-128.htm

Source: SEC site

Gallagher to Join Director Sirri, Deputy Director Colby as Part of Division’s Senior Management Team

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-129

Washington, D.C., July 1, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that Daniel M. Gallagher has been named a Deputy Director in the agency’s Division of Trading and Markets. Mr. Gallagher will join the Trading and Markets senior management team of Deputy Director Robert Colby and Director Erik Sirri.

Erik Sirri, Director of the Division of Trading and Markets, said, “I am thrilled to have Dan join the Division as a Deputy Director. His unique blend of Commission, private sector, and law firm experience will be a tremendous resource for both the Division and the Commission. With Dan and Bob Colby as Deputy Directors, the Division is well-positioned to handle the daily challenges presented by an ever-changing marketplace.”

In recent years, the Division’s staffing and responsibilities have grown to include supervision of the nation’s largest investment banks under the 2004 Consolidated Supervised Entities program, and oversight of Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations under the 2006 Credit Rating Agency Reform Act. An additional Deputy Director position is designed to assist the Division in better managing its significant responsibilities.

Mr. Gallagher said, “It is an honor and a privilege to join the staff of the Division of Trading and Markets. I have a deep respect for the Division staff and mission, and I look forward to working with Erik, Bob, and my colleagues to help carry out the Division’s responsibilities.”

Mr. Gallagher has served as Counsel toSecurity Exchange CommissionChairman Christopher Cox since 2007, and before that he served as Counsel to Commissioner Paul S. Atkins. In those capacities, he has worked on many of the major Division of Trading and Markets rulemakings during the last few years, including the Nasdaq Exchange application, the NYSE/Euronext merger, Regulation R, the implementation of the Credit Rating Agency Act of 2006, the elimination of short selling restrictions, and various broker-dealer initiatives.

Mr. Gallagher was formerly the General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Fiserv Securities, Inc., a clearing broker-dealer, where he was responsible for managing all of the firm’s legal and regulatory matters. Mr. Gallagher began his career at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, where he advised clients regarding broker-dealer regulatory issues, and represented clients inSecurity Exchange Commissionand SRO enforcement proceedings.

Mr. Gallagher earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the Catholic University of America, where he was a member of the law review, and he graduated from Georgetown University with a B.A. in English.

Mr. Gallagher’s appointment will be effective July 21, 2008.

# # #

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-129.htm

Source: SEC site

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-126

Washington, D.C., July 1, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Chief Information Officer R. Corey Booth completed hisSecurity Exchange Commissionservice on June 30 and will join the Boston Consulting Group in New York as a leader of its financial services practice.

Mr. Booth, who also served as Director of the SEC’s Office of Information Technology, joined theSecurity Exchange Commissionin January 2004 after several years as a consultant with global consulting firm McKinsey and Company. As CIO at the SEC, Mr. Booth has been responsible for the full range of information technology-related functions at the SEC, and for ensuring that the agency’s technology investments are aligned to support the agency’s mission. The SEC’s Office of Information Technology employs more than 600 staff and contractors.

Korn/Ferry International, an executive recruitment firm, will be assisting theSecurity Exchange Commissionin identifying candidates interested in serving as the Commission’s next Chief Information Officer as part of a nationwide search across both private and public-sector sources.

“During his four and a half years at the helm of the Office of Information Technology, Corey has dramatically improved the way that theSecurity Exchange Commissionmakes information available to investors and our markets,” saidSecurity Exchange CommissionChairman Christopher Cox. “He has led the implementation of our interactive data initiative for mutual fund and company disclosures, and he has improved the SEC’s own financial reporting and internal operations as we work to protect investors. He will be long remembered and sorely missed.”

Mr. Booth said, “I have been honored and humbled every day to work with such talented people to achieve the honorable mission of the SEC. I am immensely proud of the information technology team’s accomplishments over the last few years, and I’m confident that they are on track to even greater achievements in the future.”

Mr. Booth headed up a range of initiatives to improve the agency and its information technology capabilities:

• Led the initial phases of the Commission’s interactive data initiative, in which public company and mutual fund disclosures will be “tagged” so investors can more easily search and analyze information and make smarter investment decisions.

• Implemented a program to help transform the system used by the Enforcement Division to maintain evidence from primarily paper-based formats to wholly digital formats, enablingSecurity Exchange Commissionattorneys to view and search all evidence online and seamlessly integrate it with litigation management tools.

• Significantly improved the agency’s information security program and resolved weaknesses identified by the Government Accountability Office in an audit of the agency’s financial statements and internal controls.

• Implemented a number of new internal systems, including new tools for enforcement case management, disgorgements and penalties tracking, and the management of compliance inspections.

Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Booth was an associate principal in the financial services and information technology practices of McKinsey and Company. In that role, he was responsible for advising senior executives of major financial institutions on a variety of strategic and technology management issues. Mr. Booth received his MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1995, and his A.B. summa cum laude in economics and English literature from Washington University in St. Louis in 1991.

# # #

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-126.htm

Source: SEC site