To advance the investigation, the SEC’s Office of Information Technology is creating a database of trading information, audit trail data, and credit default swaps clearing data. The Office of Economic Analysis is helping to analyze data across markets for manipulative patterns in equity securities and derivatives.

During 2008, the SEC completed the highest number of enforcement investigations ever, brought the highest number of insider trading cases in the agency’s history, and brought a record number of enforcement actions against market manipulation—including a precedent-setting case against a Wall Street short seller for intentionally spreading false rumors. The SEC in 2008 also initiated the second-highest number of enforcement actions in Commission history.

During each of the last two years, the SEC set the record for the highest number of corporate penalty cases in agency history. For the second year in a row, the Commission returned more than $1 billion to harmed investors using our Fair Funds authority under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. To support this record level of law enforcement activity, more than one-third of the SEC staff now serve in the enforcement program. That is a higher percentage of the SEC’s total resources than at any time in the past 20 years.

The SEC devoted more funds to enforcement in 2008 than at any time in agency history. In 2008, the number of enforcement personnel grew by 4 percent.