SEC, 버크셔해서웨이 분식 여부 조사

[edaily 피용익기자] 미국 증권거래위원회(SEC)는 버크셔해서웨이의 분식회계 여부를 조사하기 위해 회사의 보험정책에 대한 자료 제출을 요청했다고 블룸버그통신이 30일(현지시간) 보도했다. SEC는 버크셔해서웨이의 보험 정책이 회사의 손실을 분식하거나 실적을 왜곡시켰는지 여부를 조사할 방침이다. 버크셔의 재보험 자회사인 제너럴리는 전일 SEC로부터 이같은 요청을 받았으며, 이에 협조할 방침이라고 밝혔다. 전문가들은 SEC의 자료 제출 요청은 버크셔헤서웨이가 엘리엇 스피처 뉴욕 검찰총장으로부터 소환장을 받게 될 가능성을 시사하는 것이라고 분석하고 있다. 가드너루소&가드너의 토마스 루소 매니저는 "제너럴리와 같은 회사들이 부정직한 일을 했을 가능성이 있다"며 "사실로 드러난다면 파장이 매우 클 것으로 예상된다"고 말했다. 한편 버크셔해서웨이의 주가는 올 들어 5.9% 상승했다. 사실은 아래와 같이 말했는데, 아래부분은 딱 자르고 말하니까, 왠지 버펫이 신임하는 회사들의 경영진들이 잘못한거 같은 착각을 들게 만드네요... -_-; "The culture at Berkshire is such that they would congenitally be unlikely to play anywhere close to the line," said Thomas Russo, a partner at Gardner Russo & Gardner in Lancaster, Pa. "It is possible that an individual could have fallen short of Berkshire's standards or the law, but it's unlikely given Berkshire's culture," he added. Russo's firm invests 8 percent of its roughly $1 billion of assets in Berkshire shares. 아래는 기사 전문입니다. SEC wants Berkshire insurance info Regulators target Buffett's company in probe over balance-sheet-smoothing insurance products. December 30, 2004: 5:07 PM EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the company run by billionaire Warren Buffett, said Thursday securities regulators have requested information on insurance products that might help companies distort earnings. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued the request to Berkshire's General Re Corp. reinsurance unit and its affiliates. It is seeking information on non-traditional or loss mitigation insurance products. Berkshire said that it and General Re will cooperate fully. Berkshire's Class "A" (up $400.00 to $89,200.00, Research) shares rose on the New York Stock Exchange, while its Class "B" (down $9.00 to $2,956.00, Research) shares fell. The respective shares have risen 6 percent and 5 percent this year. Berkshire's share prices are high because the company has few shares outstanding relative to most large U.S. companies. Regulators, including New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, have subpoenaed or requested information from several insurers on such policies, which are being scrutinized as a possible way for companies to hide losses. Berkshire, based in Omaha, Neb., had not previously been implicated in the widening regulatory probes into insurance practices. It also owns auto insurer Geico Corp. "The culture at Berkshire is such that they would congenitally be unlikely to play anywhere close to the line," said Thomas Russo, a partner at Gardner Russo & Gardner in Lancaster, Pa. "It is possible that an individual could have fallen short of Berkshire's standards or the law, but it's unlikely given Berkshire's culture," he added. Russo's firm invests 8 percent of its roughly $1 billion of assets in Berkshire shares. Ace Ltd. (Research) and St. Paul Travelers Cos. (Research) are among other companies that regulators have contacted on similar products. American International Group Inc. (Research), the largest insurer by market value, was fined $10 million by the SEC in 2003 and $80 million by the Department of Justice last month over a non-traditional contract it sold to cell phone distributor Brightpoint Inc. A Berkshire spokeswoman and SEC spokesman John Heine declined to comment. Brad Maione, a spokesman for Spitzer, declined to say whether the attorney general requested information from or subpoenaed General Re Probes Gary Ransom, an analyst at Fox-Pitt Kelton Inc., last month said the finite insurance at issue can have the effect of smoothing earnings, even if that is not its primary purpose Regulators are questioning whether such products can function as loans to help camouflage earnings weakness. Based in Stamford, Conn., General Re is one of the world's biggest reinsurers. It generated $5.59 billion, or 10.3 percent, of Berkshire's $54.4 billion of revenue from January to September, Berkshire's quarterly report shows. Other insurance practices that regulators are examining include the steering of business to favored providers, not those offering the best terms, in exchange for lucrative fees. On Thursday, employee benefits consultant Watson Wyatt & Co. Holdings said Spitzer subpoenaed it regarding insurance placements, including so-called "override payments." Buffett is the world's second-richest person, with a recent net worth of about $41 billion, according to Forbes magazine.