CFO Moves: Hong Kong Exchanges, U.S. Rare Earths, Chindex

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing said  its CFO, Samuel Wong, is resigning to pursue other opportunities; U.S. Rare Earths appointed its first CFO; Chindex International promotes its chief accounting officer Robert Low to CFO, joint venture CFO, Lawrence Pemble, to COO.

Three Must-Read Articles

Weight Watchers ditched its highly successful points system because it’s “the right thing to do;” companies in prosperous nations hiring talented people away from developing economies may actually be helping those countries; Discover’s CEO David Nelms is planning to rival more ubiquitous Visa, Mastercard and Amex cards through direct banking.

The Morning Ledger: Loan Issuance Hits All-Time High in 2011

Note to Ledger readers: Happy New Year! And thank you for starting your day with us in 2011. We’ll be back Jan. 3 to get the new year rolling.

Money-market showdown. CFOJ’s Emily Chasan has been keeping us up on the raft of new rules we’ll be facing in 2012. Today Chasan examines SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro’s plans to introduce a new regulatory overhaul of the money-market mutual fund industry. The idea is getting heavy pushback from the industry, members of Congress, corporate groups and at least one fellow commissioner. Daniel Gallagher, a Republican commissioner who has only been on the job for a few weeks, argues the proposals are “premature, and possibly unnecessary. Marie Hollein, president of Financial Executives International, a trade group that represents corporate controllers and CFOs, says the corporate finance community is concerned about the possible erosion of liquidity due to more market reforms. “It would impact their companies’ liquidity management activities,” she tells CFO Journal.

CFO Moves: IEC Electronics, Kinetic Concepts

Susan Topel-Samek, CFO of IEC Electronics is resigning for personal reasons; Kinetic Concepts said its CFO, Martin Landon, will take on the additional role of interim CEO, since the company’s CEO is leaving earlier than planned.

SEC Commissioners in Money Market Showdown

Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Mary Schapiro plans to introduce a new regulatory overhaul of the money-market mutual fund industry in the first quarter of 2012, but faces opposition from within the Commission itself, as well as from trade groups representing corporate finance professionals.

The market has already been reformed recently, but the financial crisis in Europe has increased fears of a run on the funds, which are an important source of short-term financing for companies. This has increased pressure on the SEC to ensure that the funds are on stable footing.

Loan Issuance Hits All-Time High in 2011

Investment-grade and junk-rated loan issuance in the U.S. hit a record high of $1.86 trillion this year, according to Thomson Reuters LPC. However, the loan-market research service said this year’s levels are unlikely to be sustained in 2012, as the European financial crisis and bank regulatory capital changes could make it more difficult for borrowers to access the market.

The Morning Ledger: Make-or-Break Year Looms for BofA’s Thompson

The day ahead. Watch for more declines in weekly jobless claims — the four-week average has fallen to its lowest level since early 2008. Chicago PMI December is expected to fall slightly, and economists think pending home sales for November will climb.

Bank of America’s Bruce Thompson is our latest CFO to Watch in 2012. It’ll be a make-or-break year for Thompson that could cement his reputation as a risk-savvy financial guru. But if the bank’s woes worsen, he could also join the long list of well-regarded veteran executives to get their walking papers. (Remember former CFO Joe Price?) At the top of Thompson’s to-do list in 2012 will be generating capital, reducing BofA’s risk-weighted assets, and improving the bank’s capital ratios. He’ll have to rely on some of the skills he displayed as the company’s chief risk officer as he figures out what to do with troublesome parts of the business, like residential mortgage lender Countrywide Financial.

CFO Moves: Move, Victory Energy, China Sky

J&J Hip Recalls Not Yet Ailing Bottom Line

While Johnson & Johnson may be facing bad publicity from its recall of metal hip replacement parts, as detailed in the New York Times today, the liabilities associated with the recall and litigation have so far had minimal impact on the company’s bottom line.

CFO Curbing Bank of America’s Appetite for Risk

Bruce Thompson, Bank of America’s sixth chief financial officer since 2005, hopes to bring stability to both his office and the bank itself in 2012. Named to the position when Chuck Noski, Chief Executive Brian Moynihan’s prior pick for the job, bowed out for personal reasons earlier this year, Thompson and Moynihan are “tied at the hip,” according to bank analyst Marty Mosby of Guggenheim Securities.

The coming year could cement Thompson’s reputation as a risk-savvy financial guru, but if the bank’s travails persist, BofA might add to its recent reputation for giving well-regarded veteran executives, like former chairman and CEO Ken Lewis, wealth-management head Sallie Krawcheck and consumer-banking head – and former CFO – Joe Price, their walking papers.