Senators last year seized on the Wells Fargo scandal to push for regulations making it mandatory for executives to turn over millions of dollars in compensation for misconduct and wait longer for bonus pay. On Tuesday, when asked about the SEC’s pending consideration of a clawback regulation, Clayton gave no specific timeline for finalizing the rule.
“It is one of many mandates” of the Dodd-Frank Act, Clayton said. “I intend to finish the mandate. There is a prioritization. I am going to be very open with this committee and the American people in the Regulatory Flexibility Agenda about our priorities, and I welcome your continued input on how we’ve prioritized those.”
Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, urged the SEC to take a “trust but verify” approach toward Equifax, saying it “may well be” that the managers were unaware of the breach at the time of their sell-off.
Clayton said he could not confirm or deny any SEC investigation.
“I’m not going to comment on that specific matter for the reasons I’ve discussed. We don’t comment on pending investigations, including on whether they actually are pending,” Clayton said.
But, he added, “I’m not ignoring this or other events like it.”
