Capital One CEO Richard Fairbank has been ordered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to pay a $637,950 fine for allegedly violating antitrust laws and the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act, according to a press release.
The HSR Act makes it so companies and individuals have to report amounts over a certain threshold to the FTC and Department of Justice (DOJ), so that deals can be analyzed before they close, the release stated. The agencies have 30 days after a transaction to investigate and determine whether another request is needed to get more information.
Fairbank allegedly did not report his large stock windfall to federal antitrust authorities, according to the release. He also illegally finalized the acquisition before the agencies at the FTC and the DOJ could investigate.
“As the CEO of one of America’s largest banks, Richard Fairbank repeatedly broke the law,” said Acting Director of the Bureau of Competition Holly Vedova in the release. “There is no exemption for Wall Street bankers and powerful CEOs when it comes to complying with our country’s antitrust laws.”
The release called Fairbank a repeat offender, with offenses dating back 20 years. But the FTC order as of Thursday (Sept. 2) is the first time he’s been penalized.
Fairbank, according to the release, has failed twice — in 1999 and 2004 — to comply with the HSR Act to make filings about the multi-million-dollar compensation package he received. He made a corrective filing in 2008 and claimed his prior failures were accidental, promising to put in place a system to make sure HSR notifications would be filed. The FTC didn’t make him pay fines for the previous offenses.
In other news, Capital One teamed with Melio, a small business B2B company, to offer more access for accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR) teams for cash flow management tools.
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