As the Securities and Exchange Commission works to implement a host of new rules across the US financial system, a scandal over the agency’s real estate decisions continues to linger on its balance sheet.

Of the $1.57bn requested for the agency in President Barack Obama's 2013 budget, $100.35m is to be used to "cover shortfalls" in the agency's obligations related to ongoing real estate contracts. Included in that sum is $13.7m related to space the SEC leased in the summer of 2010 and later walked away from.