On April 28, 2003, SEC Chairman William H. Donaldson announced a global analyst research settlement involving ten firms, with total monetary relief of just under $1.4 billion, including nearly $400 million in disgorgement and over $400 million in civil penalties.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by SEC's own press release plus independent corroboration from FINRA, NASAA, and Cooley law firm summaries, all matching the specific dollar figures cited. [tier=unverified indep_score=0.3 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable] [rescored 2026-09-15: curated origin-host map (PR #65); unclassified hosts no longer scored as aggregators]
Sources
- Speech by SEC Chairman: Prepared for Delivery at SEC Press Conference Regarding Global Settlement (seed:economics_and_business)
- https://www.nasaa.org/7992/ten-of-nations-top-investment-firms-settle-enforcement-actions-involving-conflicts-of-interest-between-research-and-investment-banking/ (corroboration)
- https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/guidance/reports/2003-global-settlement (corroboration)
- https://www.cooley.com/news/insight/2010/modifications-to-global-research-analyst-settlement (corroboration)