Spitzer, Eliot

The Attorney General of the state of New York who began investigating conflicts of interest between Wall Street’s research analysts and investment bankers after the stock market began erasing its record gains in 2000. For 18 months, Spitzer subpoenaed Wall Street executives and their records, including e‑mail. In December, 2002, he, along with the Securities and Exchange Commission, National Association of Securities Dealers, the New York Stock Exchange, and a group of state securities regulators, reached an agreement with ten of the largest Wall Street firms to settle conflict-of-interest charges. The ten firms were fined a total of $1.435 billion, which was comprised of $900 million in fines, $450 million in independent research initiatives, and $85 million in investor education.