[JURIST] Leading Thursday's corporations and securities law news, as expected, SEC Chairman William Donaldson [official profile] officially stepped down today, having announced his resignation earlier this month [JURIST report]. Donaldson steered the regulatory agency for the last two-plus years through an era of intense activity and litigation. President Bush has named SEC Commissioner Cynthia Glassman [official profile] as the acting SEC Chairman until the Senate confirms Donaldson's permanent replacement, expected to be White House nominee and Congressman Christopher Cox [JURIST report]. AP has more.

In other corporations and securities law news…

• KPMG's Canadian auditing unit has settled with the SEC. KPMG Canada [corporate website] was censured for providing bookkeeping services to the now-bankrupt Southwestern Water Exploration Co. while also auditing the company. In a press release, the SEC announced that KPMG has agreed to pay $76,000 in fees and that two of KPMG Canada's executives have agreed to temporary bans from representing companies before the SEC. KPMG Canada said in its own statement that the settlement "reflects KPMG LLP (Canada)’s commitment to work constructively with regulators." AP has more.
• As reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, Bernard Ebbers [Wikipedia profile] has forfeited almost all of his possessions as part of a settlement with former shareholders of his bankrupt company, WorldCom [JURIST news archive]. Ebbers will be forced to liquidate his nearly $40 million fortune to settle the multiple lawsuits brought against him by shareholders who lost billions in the company's bankruptcy. Ebbers was convicted of corporate fraud in March [JURIST report] and faces up to 85 years in prison. The New York Times has more.