to a drop in State Street shares of nearly 10% with share prices remaining flat since the purchase. In January 2019, State Street announced that it planned to lay off 1,500 employees, increasing the number to 2,300 in July. During that period, the company shifted their workforce from the United States to countries like China, India and Poland and operated under a hiring freeze. The increased overseas hiring resulted in a net gain of employment of over 3,000. In September 2021, State Street agreed to buy Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.'s investor-services business for $3.5 billion in cash. Nearly a year since the announcement, the deal was pending regulatory approval. CEO O'Hanley noted that a restructuring of the business unit is expected to achieve the approval which would require negotiating a lower price with Brown Brothers. Following continued scrutiny in getting the regulatory approvals, the deal was mutually agreed to be dropped in November 2022. Controversies Currency trade fraud In 2009, California alleged on behalf of its pension funds CalPERS and CalSTRS that State Street had committed fraud on currency trades handled by the custodian bank. In October 2011, two executives from State Street Global Markets left the company following charges over the pricing of a fixed income transaction. In April 2016, they were charged by the United States Department of Justice. Non-disclosure of short position On February 28, 2012, State Street Global Advisors entered into a consent order with the Massachusetts Securities Division. The Division was investigating the firm's role as the investment manager of a $1.65 billion (USD) hybrid collateralized debt obligation. The investigation resulted in a fine of $5 million (USD) for the non-disclosure of certain initial investors taking a short position on portions of the CDO. Shareholder complaints During the May 2012 annual shareholders meeting, chairman and chief executive Jay Hooley was shouted down on numerous occasions by protesters in relation to the outsourcing and other grievances. Secret commissions On January 18, 2017, State Street agreed to pay $64.6 million to resolve U.S. investigations into what prosecutors said was a scheme to defraud six clients through secret commissions on billions of dollars of trades. In 2018 former employee of State Street, Edward Pennings was sentenced to six months in prison for his role in the scheme. Employee Ross McLellan was also sentenced in the United States to 18 months in prison. Fearless Girl statue In March