“Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Jo White on Thursday said she is prepared for more trials against alleged wrongdoers if firms decline to admit wrongdoing in settlements with her agency.

“White, giving a speech in a ceremonial federal court room of lawyers and judges in Washington, spoke almost longingly about her days before a jury as a federal prosecutor and lamented that the decline in trials has taken away public accountability.

“’In this age of diminishing trials, we at the SEC may be about to reverse the trend a bit,’ she said.

“The speech sends a message to Wall Street that White is serious about a policy shift she engineered at the SEC earlier this year that encourages the agency to secure more admissions of wrongdoing from firms under investigation.”

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