SEC Rebuffs Lawmakers Over Bear

NEW YORK -- Securities regulators refused a congressional request to disclose why they dropped an investigation into whether Bear Stearns Cos. harmed investors by improperly valuing complex debt securities, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission cited confidentiality in its decision involving the late-stage probe of the Wall Street firm, the paper reported.

In an April 2 letter, Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, requested information from the SEC into the circumstances surrounding the dropped case, the paper reported.

"The Commission does not disclose the existence or nonexistence of an investigation or information generated in any investigation unless made a matter of public record in proceedings brought before the Commission or the courts," SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said in an April 16 letter to Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, the paper reported.

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 4/23/08