US SEC enforcement activity plunges two years into Trump administration

Résumé détaillé

US SEC enforcement activity falls to lowest level since 1991 under Trump administration, Reuters review finds. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Republican leaders have generally argued that overly onerous enforcement stifles business and punishes shareholders.

NEW YORK – The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Nov 10 it brought 348 enforcement actions in fiscal 2026, the fewest cases since 1991, according to a Reuters review of agency statistics.

The agency’s actions were down from 456 a year earlier, as the Wall Street watchdog said it levied nearly US$1.1 billion (S$1.4 billion) in fines and other financial remedies.

That was the lowest level of penalties it has imposed since 2008, on a non-inflation-adjusted basis, according to the Reuters review of figures published on the SEC’s website.

The figures are likely to stoke concerns among Democrats and consumer advocacy groups that the agency, which oversees more than 30,000 brokers, funds and other financial firms, is dramatically stepping back from enforcement under Republican US President Donald Trump’s administration.

Republican leaders, who took the helm of the SEC in January 2025, have generally argued that overly onerous enforcement stifles business and in the case of public corporations, punishes shareholders.

Current SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, for example, has described its previous enforcement stance as opaque and unpredictable.

“The success of the SEC’s enforcement programme is ultimately measured by how effectively it advances the SEC’s mission, protects investors, holds wrongdoers accountable, and strengthens confidence in our markets,” Atkins said in a statement about the SEC’s annual report.

“Enforcement actions and financial remedies are important measures of activity, but they are not the only or most telling measures.”

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