“A J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. unit struck a $50 million deal with regulators who accused the bank of filing “robo-signed” mortgage documents to bankruptcy courts across the country. “Under the deal with the U.S. Justice Department, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A. promised to make payments to more than 25,000 homeowners, including some who weren’t properly notified […]
“Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. tried to bury the lead. “Toward the end of public comments he gave last week at the National Press Club, Mr. Holder slipped in that he had given his staff members at the Justice Department precisely 90 more days to come up with new civil or criminal prosecutions against Wall Street […]
“The Justice Department is pushing some of the biggest banks on Wall Street — including, for the first time in decades, American institutions — to plead guilty to criminal charges that they manipulated the prices of foreign currencies. “In the final stages of a long-running investigation into corruption in the world’s largest financial market, federal […]
“Financial reform advocates are crying foul over a pair of bills set to pass the House, arguing they are aimed at jamming regulators and exposing rules to new court challenges. “The House is preparing to consider two bills, HR 50 and HR 527, that Republicans argue will provide some much-needed regulatory relief for small businesses, […]
“North Carolina will receive $21.5 million as part of a settlement with Standard & Poor’s to resolve claims that the credit-rating agency knowingly inflated its ratings of risky mortgage bonds that helped create the financial crisis. “The settlement is part of a $1.38 billion accord announced Tuesday between the U.S. Justice Department and Standard & […]
“Credit ratings firm Standard & Poor’s has reached a nearly $1.4 billion settlement with the Justice Department and several states over allegations the company misled investors in the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis by giving risky mortgage bonds its highest rating. “Under the terms of the deal, S&P will pay $687.5 million to the […]
“Two Justice Department lawyers leading an effort to hold financial firms accountable for the mortgage-fed debacle that fueled the Great Recession stopped in to talk strategy in mid-2009 with Jerry Brown, then California’s attorney general. “What are we going to do about the ratings agencies? What about them?” Brown asked the pair, Tony West and […]
“The Justice Department barely finished announcing its $1.4 billion settlement with ratings agency Standard & Poor Financial Services Tuesday before critics blasted the deal as insufficient to safeguard against another bubble. “S&P agreed to end the government’s lawsuit, brought in 2011, alleging it inflated ratings of mortgage-backed securities during the housing boom, thus fueling the […]
Better Markets has argued for years that so-called “cost benefit analysis” is really little more than “industry-cost only analysis,” which fails to properly and fully capture the costs and benefits to the public of financial stability and preventing another crash and economic catastrophe. Indeed, many of those benefits (like stability, risk reduction, etc.) and costs […]
Washington, D.C., February 3, 2015 – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued the following statement in response to the settlement reportedly reached between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) regarding the credit rating agency’s ratings of securities leading to the financial crisis: “Today’s reported settlement between DOJ […]
MetLife is launching a legal attack against a key part of the 2010 financial reform law in an attempt to escape greater regulatory scrutiny with a case that challenges how a new super panel of regulators fundamentally conducts its business. The life insurance giant on Tuesday asked a federal court in Washington to set aside […]
Remarkably, Goldman Sachs, one of the richest, most powerful, politically connected (aka Government Sachs) too-big-to-fail Wall Street banks, has demonstrated a Teflon-like ability to bounce back from egregious misdeeds, if not outright illegal conduct, and horrible publicity. From Matt Taibbi’s Rolling Stone classic “great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity” to Sen. Carl Levin‘s expose of Goldman’s infamous Abacus derivatives rip […]
“The U.S. Justice Department is conducting its own criminal investigation of foreign-exchange rate setting. And the Federal Reserve confirmed Wednesday it has a probe underway in coordination with Justice and other agencies. Additional penalties are possible. “Criminal charges against individual bank executives couldn’t come soon enough for some consumer advocates and critics of the financial […]
“It didn’t work out with Pierre Omidyar. So, Matt Taibbi is back at Rolling Stone. And his first article is a blockbuster. “In it, Taibbi puts the lie to the commonly expressed belief that the reason there has been no criminal prosecution of a major Wall Street bank or banker is because these cases are […]
Washington, D.C., November 12, 2014 – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, an independent nonprofit organization that promotes the public interest in the financial markets, issued the following statement today: “The breadth, brazenness, scope and duration of the global conspiracy to manipulate the foreign exchange markets are staggering. Yet, the global too-big-to-fail banks […]
“She tried to stay quiet, she really did. But after eight years of keeping a heavy secret, the day came when Alayne Fleischmann couldn’t take it anymore. “It was like watching an old lady get mugged on the street,” she says. “I thought, ‘I can’t sit by any longer.'” “Fleischmann is a tall, thin, quick-witted […]
“Maurice R. Greenberg, the ousted chief executive of American International Group Inc., was practically laughed out of New York for claiming that he and other shareholders were shortchanged by the U.S. government’s $182-billion bailout of AIG. “No one’s laughing now. “In an obscure courthouse here, normally the domain of aggrieved government contractors and Native American […]
Remarkably, Goldman Sachs, one of the richest, most powerful, politically connected (aka Government Sachs) too-big-to-fail Wall Street banks, has demonstrated a Teflon-like ability to bounce back from egregious misdeeds, if not outright illegal conduct, and horrible publicity. From Matt Taibbi’s Rolling Stone classic “great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity” to Sen. Carl […]
Editorial Board, NY Times The trial in the suit by Maurice Greenberg against the United States has segued this month from star-witness testimony to routine evidence gathering. As the case proceeds, the farce at its center becomes ever more clear. Mr. Greenberg, a former chief executive of the American International Group, is suing for $40 billion, asserting […]
“The trial pitting a fallen financial titan against an array of former high government luminaries provides a through-the-looking-glass view of the financial credit crisis of 2008 — a view that only makes sense on Wall Street. “In the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., Maurice R. Greenberg, the deposed head of the rescued […]
“Critics of Wall Street are pushing President Obama to take a tougher stance against the financial sector when picking a replacement for Attorney General Eric Holder. “Lawmakers and outside groups that have accused Holder of going easy on big banks are hoping for a fresh start now that the Justice Department is set to come […]
Eric H. Holder Jr.’s last year as attorney general was marked by multibillion-dollar settlements with big banks for their role in fueling the boom in subprime mortgages. They were a long-awaited response to the financial crisis but came after precious few prosecutions of corporate executives. In looking at Mr. Holder’s legacy in white-collar crime cases, the […]
“David Boies has spent much of this year putting the celebrity in celebrity lawyer. In January, he and Ted Olson, his onetime Republican antagonist from Bush v. Gore days, were at the Sundance Festival for the premiere of “The Case Against 8,” a documentary about their crusade against California’s anti-gay marriage law. In May, they […]
Washington, D.C., September 16, 2014 – Today, a federal court in Washington, D.C. dealt a serious blow to Wall Street’s derivatives dealers’ relentless campaign to defeat financial reform. With one small exception, the Court firmly rejected the plaintiffs’ challenges to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) cross-border guidance and rules on derivatives transactions overseas, said Better […]
“Today’s Bank of America settlement with the federal government is a record. The nearly $17 billion deal resolves an investigation into allegations the bank misled purchasers of mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis. The settlement is the largest ever reached between the government and a U.S. company. “Until now the biggest bank deal involved […]
“Today brings the utterly unsurprising news that Eric Cantor is headed to Wall Street. “The ousted House majority leader and longtime friend of the financial industry is joining Moelis & Company as a vice-chairman. His paycheck? At least $1.6 million in 2015, plus a million-dollar signing bonus. His duties? To “compete for business and advise […]
Announced very late on a Friday afternoon in late August, presumably designed to get the least notice and attention, Goldman Sachs, yet another big Wall Street bank, will walk away almost scot-free from its role in causing the worst financial crash since 1929 and the worst economy since the Great Depression of the 1930s. As […]
Bank of America will pay nearly $17 billion for its role in writing and securitizing risky home loans in the run up the housing crisis. For a closer look at the Justice Department deal, and the impact it and earlier bank settlements might have on Wall Street and across the U.S., Hari Sreenivasan talks to […]
Washington, D.C., August 21, 2014 – Dennis Kelleher, the President and CEO of Better Markets, issued the following statement in response to the settlement reached between the U.S. Department of Justice and Bank of America regarding the bank’s illegal conduct inflating the subprime lending bubble and contributing to the financial crash in 2008: “DOJ’s latest […]
“WASHINGTON — How much will Bank of America’s expected US$17 billion mortgage settlement cost the company? The answer is, almost certainly not that much. “In mega-settlements negotiated with the government, a dollar is rarely worth an actual dollar. “Inflated figures make sensational headlines for the Justice Department, and US$17 billion would be the largest settlement […]
“The megabanks are finally feeling the hurt for the depredations of the mortgage era. That’s what the government, and some in the financial press, too, would have us believe. Bank of America is reportedly about to fork over a whopping $17 billion dollar settlement to the Justice Department, topping the previous record of $13 billion […]
“WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice and Bank of America have reached a record settlement in principle in which the bank will pay just under $17 billion to resolve allegations related to fraudulent marketing of mortgage-backed securities that helped cause the nation’s economic crisis, an official with knowledge of the negotiations said Wednesday. “The tentative […]
Washington, D.C., August 6, 2014 – Dennis Kelleher, the President and CEO of Better Markets, issued the following statement on the media reports that the U.S. Department of Justice and Bank of America have come to a settlement deal over the bank’s illegal conduct inflating the subprime lending bubble and contributing to the financial crash […]
Shocking but true: all 11 of Wall Street’s biggest too-big-to-fail banks just flunked a key test, proving that they still pose a huge, needless and unacceptable risk to US taxpayers, the financial system and the economy as a whole: A major reform after the financial crash of 2008 was requiring the most gigantic Wall Street […]
“With Citigroup Inc. agreeing to pay $7 billion for issuing toxic mortgage securities, the Justice Department now turns to settling its case against what analysts call the biggest mortgage miscreant of all: Bank of America Corp. “The government has contended that the Charlotte, N.C., lender bears responsibility not only for its own mortgage bonds, but […]
News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Alex Formuzis Email: [email protected] Tel: 202-618-6430 DOJ also fails to disclose massive CDO ‘immunity-gift’ Washington, D.C., July 14, 2014– Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher issued the following statement today in response to the announced settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Citigroup over the bank’s billions […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Washington, D.C., July 8, 2014 – Pushing forward with its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for granting blanket immunity to JP Morgan Chase in an historic settlement without any judicial review, Better Markets filed a legal brief in court arguing that the American people have a right to know what […]
“Bank of America Corp. failed to win dismissal of two government lawsuits in which it’s accused of misleading investors about the quality of loans tied to $850 million in residential mortgage-backed securities. “U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. in Charlotte, North Carolina, ruled yesterday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission properly laid out claims […]
“Congressional Democrats say Attorney General Eric Holder has a long way to go before proving to them that the nations’ largest banks aren’t “too big to jail.” “Holder plugged this week’s guilty plea from Credit Suisse on a conspiracy to aid tax evasion charge as evidence that not even the world’s largest banks are above […]
“The government is urging a federal judge to toss a lawsuit that seeks to torpedo its $13 billion settlement with JPMorgan Chase. The lawsuit claims that the feds let the big bank off too easily. “The historic November settlement was the largest in US history. As part of the settlement deal, the nation’s largest bank was […]
“A judge overstepped his authority when he blocked a $285 million settlement between Citigroup Inc. and government regulators over toxic mortgage securities, a federal appeals court panel said Wednesday. “The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan reversed a decision by Judge Jed S. Rakoff to set a trial date for the case brought […]
“Federal judge Jed Rakoff made waves in November 2011 when he rejected a proposed neither admit nor deny consent decree between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Citigroup, ruling that the settlement was “neither reasonable, nor fair, nor adequate, nor in the public interest.” “Now, the Second Circuit has overturned Judge Rakoff and let the […]
“A federal appeals court Wednesday overturned a judge’s rejection of a $285 million settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Citigroup, ruling that the judge failed to determine the deal would ‘disserve the public interest.’ “The much-anticipated decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit concluded that U.S. District Judge Jed […]
Statement on Second Circuit Court Ruling in SEC v. Citi Settlement Washington, D.C., June 4, 2014 –Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, an independent nonprofit organization that promotes the public interest in the financial markets, which litigated this case in the District and Appeal Courts, made the following statement about today’s decision by the […]
“The Department of Justice has responded to a lawsuit brought by the public interest group Better Markets in February challenging the Department’s $13 billion settlement with JPMorgan Chase. “Better Markets filed the lawsuit challenging the Justice Department’s authority to unilaterally enter into the unprecedented and historic $13 billion agreement with JPMorgan Chase, which was the largest settlement […]
“Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc trader Fabrice Tourre said Tuesday he would not appeal an order requiring he pay more than $825,000 after a jury found him liable for defrauding investors in a failed mortgage deal. “Tourre’s announcement came on the deadline to lodge an appeal in the case, ensuring the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s August […]
“Credit Suisse has done what no other bank of its size and significance has done in over two decades: plead guilty to criminal wrongdoing. “In a sign that banking giants are no longer immune from criminal charges, despite concerns that financial institutions have grown so large and interconnected that they are too big to jail, federal […]
“The U.S. government urged a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit seeking to scuttle its landmark $13 billion settlement with JPMorgan Chase & Co, rejecting a claim that the accord let the largest U.S. bank off too easily. “Better Markets Inc, a nonprofit critical of Wall Street, had in February accused the government of “unilaterally” engineering a backroom […]
Washington, D.C., May 20, 2014 – In a new filing yesterday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seeks to prevent any transparency, oversight or accountability for its historic and unprecedented agreement to give JP Morgan Chase total civil immunity for years of illegal conduct contributing […]
“Don’t get too excited about bank indictments. “The Justice Department is talking tough. In an unusually frank video statement, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. proclaimed that he was personally overseeing major financial investigations and that his department was poised to bring charges against several large institutions. The United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, gave a rousing speech several […]
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