http://www.law360.com/banking Latest articles for: Banking Copyright 2012 Portfolio Media, Inc. en-US Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:40:48 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312312 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312312 A judge erred when he refused to compel arbitration in an overtime suit against Citigroup Inc. and held that an arbitration agreement couldn't waive the right to proceed collectively under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Citigroup told the Second Circuit on Tuesday. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:43:09 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312177 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312177 The Swiss government on Wednesday outlined a plan to force its secretive banks to do a better job ensuring that foreign clients pay taxes in their home countries, three weeks after the country's oldest bank was indicted for tax fraud in the U.S. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:25:16 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311931 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311931 Investment funds advised by Citigroup Inc.'s venture capital arm and Dubai-based Levant Capital Ltd. have closed a $100 million deal to jointly acquire a controlling stake in one of Saudi Arabia's biggest supermarket chains, the companies said Wednesday. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:20:33 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312018 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312018 A bipartisan trio of U.S. Senate lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill that would require banks and other mortgage lenders to respond to prospective short sale homebuyers within 75 days, expediting the process for underwater homeowners who are struggling to unload their properties. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:13:39 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311927 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311927 A federal watchdog agency on Wednesday expressed concern over mounting legal fees reaching $100 million in taxpayer money used to defend ex-Fannie Mae executives facing securities fraud allegations. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:11:01 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312026 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312026 A Highland Capital Management LP attorney urged a New York state appeals court Wednesday to dismiss its affiliates from UBS AG's $686 million lawsuit claiming the affiliates tricked UBS into restructuring a debt securities agreement, then made repayment impossible. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:52:33 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312274 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312274 Robert Allen Stanford receiver Ralph S. Janvey hit two Louisiana law firms with a lawsuit last week alleging they helped the Ponzi schemer fraudulently obtain state approval for one of his companies, referred clients in exchange for benefits and misappropriated more than $1.8 billion. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:49:29 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312273 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312273 A number of former Washington Mutual Inc. executives objected Wednesday to the bankrupt bank's refusal to set aside cash reserves to cover their existing and potential indemnification claims. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:19:06 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312158 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312158 The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday reversed a lower court's dismissal of a putative class action alleging State Street Bank & Trust Co. violated federal employment law by allowing General Motors employees to invest in the company's stock even after GM's impending bankruptcy became public knowledge. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:56:59 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312046 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312046 Irish financial firm Sealink Funding Ltd. on Tuesday hit a group of big banks including the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and Citigroup Inc. with a summons claiming they misrepresented the credit ratings of $949 million worth of investments in residential mortgage-backed securities. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:22:55 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312167 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/312167 Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. director Rajat Gupta sought to dismiss one of the six securities fraud counts against him Tuesday, arguing prosecutors had neglected to identify the specific trades he allegedly influenced by sharing inside information with imprisoned Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:05:06 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311808 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311808 German bank Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg sued Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and affiliated entities in New York state court Tuesday over alleged misrepresentations connected to the securitization and sale of $71 million in residential mortgage-backed securities. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:10:04 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311996 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311996 The nation's consumer financial services watchdog on Wednesday launched a wide-ranging probe into how banks' checking account overdraft programs are affecting consumers, opening up a potential battle over one of the financial industry’s leading profit engines. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:53:14 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311873 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311873 CBM Capital LLC on Tuesday opposed a $70 million settlement between Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust and bankruptcy trustees over Gibraltar's alleged involvement in a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme perpetrated by former attorney Scott Rothstein. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:50:46 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311784 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311784 Wells Fargo Bank NA has agreed to buy BNP Paribas SA's reserve-based energy lending business, which has about $9.5 billion in loan commitments and $3.9 billion in outstanding loans, the banks said Tuesday. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:32:18 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311826 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311826 A New York federal judge on Tuesday tossed racketeering claims against UniCredit SpA and an affiliate in a $59 billion suit lodged by Bernard L. Madoff's bankruptcy trustee, ruling that they had been insufficiently pled. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:04:37 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311781 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311781 General Maritime Corp. indenture trustee The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. said Tuesday that the bankrupt oil tanker operator's disclosure statement left out important information that could significantly reduce payments owed to the noteholders the bank represents. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:09:51 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311639 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311639 A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel on Friday awarded the co-founder of a prominent sports agency — whose client roster includes quarterback Tim Tebow — $400,000 over allegations that Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. deceptively spurred investments in bond funds laden with mortgage-backed securities. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:42:54 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311528 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311528 The Federal Housing Finance Agency said in a report to Congress on Tuesday that it wants to develop a unified mortgage-packaging system that can outlive both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as part of a broader strategic plan to reduce the mortgage giants' presence in the market. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:58:43 +0000 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311486 http://www.law360.com/banking/articles/311486 Plaintiffs in one of six lawsuits claiming Proskauer Rose LLP protected accused Ponzi schemer Robert Allen Stanford's bank protested a motion to stay the suit Monday, calling it a ploy to prevent the court from remanding the suit before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation reaches a decision.