To entice a new Chief Operating Officer to leave her current job, a publicly traded stock brokerage firm wants to extend credit to her in the following situations:
• The company will lend $100,000 to its COO at the prevailing fair rate of interest, after this loan has been approved by a majority vote of the company’s shareholders.
• The company will coordinate with a local bank to arrange a home relocation loan that will help the company attract a new COO by enabling her to afford to buy a home near company head- quarters.
• The company will permit the COO to charge up to $10,000 of business expenses to a widely used credit card guaranteed by the firm.
Which of these transactions is permitted under SOX? Explain?