SEC's Efforts To Find Lost and Stolen Securities

Gao ID: GGD-84-42 May 18, 1984

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) maintains a program to find securities, such as stocks and bonds, that financial institutions and their customers report as lost or missing. GAO reviewed the SEC program to determine its effectiveness in finding such securities.

SEC requires financial institutions to register under the program. Registration entitles institutions to report lost or stolen securities and check securities they receive in commercial transactions. GAO found that: (1) the number of securities recovered through the program has increased since its inception, but SEC has not accurately reported the dollar value of securities actually found through the program; and (2) SEC has exempted from the program securities that do not have industry identification numbers, and certain securities that were formerly reported to Federal Reserve Banks are no longer reported to either the Federal Reserve or SEC. GAO also found that: (1) financial institutions are not complying with reporting requirements under the program; and (2) SEC has not coordinated its program with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), which also lists lost and stolen securities.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Craig A. Simmons Team: General Accounting Office: General Government Division Phone: (202) 512-8678


The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.