The Probes Reporter™ Watch List tracks those companies involved in undisclosed SEC investigative activity.  Names are added to and removed from this list frequently based on responses we receive to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests we file with the SEC.  This is our latest update. 

KeyCorp (KEY)   
Possible, Undisclosed SEC Investigation 
Added to Watch List

• 19-Aug-2014: The SEC cites the "law enforcement exemption" of the FOIA as basis to deny the public access to the detailed records we sought on this company.  As a matter of law, they are acknowledging some sort of investigative activity. No disclosure of SEC investigative activity was found in the past two years of this company’s SEC filings. We filed an administrative appeal to challenge this denial.
   
• 19-Sep-2013:  SEC indicates no recent investigative activity found.
   
• 25-Sep-2012:  SEC indicates no recent investigative activity found.

No documents were provided to us on this company for any of our searches.

Relevant Company Disclosures. 

None of these disclosures refer directly to and/or give prominence to the existence of an SEC investigation.  Instead the company makes sweeping and repeated references to various investigation and related exposures.

• 04-Aug-2014 from the 10-Q: Other litigation. From time to time, in the ordinary course of business, we and our subsidiaries are subject to various other litigation, investigations, and administrative proceedings. Private, civil litigations may range from individual actions involving a single plaintiff to putative class action lawsuits with potentially thousands of class members. Investigations may involve both formal and informal proceedings, by both government agencies and self-regulatory bodies. These other matters may involve claims for substantial monetary relief.
   
• 30-Apr-2014 from the 10-Q: As of March 31, 2014, KeyCorp and its subsidiaries and its employees, directors, and officers are defendants or putative defendants in a variety of legal proceedings, in the form of regulatory/government investigations as well as private, civil litigation, and arbitration proceedings. The private, civil litigations range from individual actions involving a single plaintiff to putative class action lawsuits with potentially thousands of class members. Investigations involve both formal and informal proceedings, by both government agencies and self-regulatory bodies.

To learn more on our process and what our findings mean, click here.

Notes: The SEC did not disclose the details on investigations referenced above. The SEC reminds us that its assertion of the law enforcement exemption should not be construed as an indication by the Commission or its staff that any violations of law have occurred with respect to any person, entity, or security.  New SEC investigative activity could theoretically begin or end after the date covered by this latest information which would not be reflected here.