Officers’ stock sale legal, Equifax says

ATLANTA — Equifax, the credit report company hacked over the summer exposing the personal information of 145 million Americans, said a special committee has determined that none of the four executives who sold shares at the time did anything wrong.

The executives sold shares worth a combined $1.8 million in the days immediately after the company discovered the breach.

When Equifax went public with the breach in early September, company shares cratered, erasing about $2.35 billion of its market value.

The company revealed that an ongoing cyberattack lasted from mid-May to July. Equifax said it detected the hack on July 29.

On Aug. 1 and Aug. 2, Equifax chief financial officer John Gamble and three other executives sold a combined $1.8 million in stock.

The company said Friday that a special committee comprised of independent directors, and advised by an independent counsel, found that none of the executives had knowledge of the breach when their trades were made.

The internal report did not appear to ease the apprehension of those who hold company stock. Shares were essentially flat on Friday. That’s because it is the Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal agency that enforces securities laws, which will have the final say.

Mike Stewart / Associated Press file SEC Chairman Jay Clayton has refused to comment when asked by lawmakers if executives at Atlanta-based Equifax engaged in insider trading when they sold their shares. He has not confirmed or denied that the SEC is investigating.