BankingRSS

  • February 29, 2008

    Countrywide Abuses Bankruptcy System: Trustees

    Three U.S. trustees sued mortgage lender Countrywide Home Loans Inc. last week in three separate homeowners' bankruptcy cases, blasting the company's alleged “bad-faith conduct that abused the judicial process,” which they said was part of a nationwide, ongoing pattern.

  • February 29, 2008

    BoFA Unit Gets Wells Notice In Bond Bidding Probe

    Bank of America Corp. divulged Thursday that, despite its agreement to cooperate with the U.S. Department of Justice, one of its units may still be under scrutiny in a federal investigation into anti-competitive activities among bidders for municipal bond derivatives.

  • February 29, 2008

    Clear Channel Deal Prompts Suit Against Wachovia

    A Providence Equity Partners Inc. affiliate has sued Wachovia Bank NA in an attempt to force the bank to follow through on an earlier pledge to help finance the private equity firm's $1.1 billion purchase of 56 television stations from Clear Channel Communications Inc.

  • February 29, 2008

    E-Trade To Pay $4M To Settle Thorny MarketXT Suit

    E-Trade has settled a lawsuit stemming from a $280 million all-stock deal it made with the now-bankrupt securities trading service provider MarketXT, ending years of litigation on both sides.

  • February 28, 2008

    Wachovia Also Part Of Municipal Bond Probe

    Wachovia Bank NA and two of its employees are being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice for possible wrongdoing related to municipal bond bid-rigging.

  • February 28, 2008

    Judge Shakes Head At Scruggs' Requests

    The federal district judge presiding over the bribery case involving Richard “Dickie” Scruggs has batted down a host of motions by the famed tort lawyer and the other defendants, paving the way for the case to continue proceeding to trial at the end of March.

  • February 28, 2008

    Faro Tech. Strikes $7M Class Action Settlement Deal

    Faro Technologies Inc. has struck a deal to resolve consolidated securities fraud litigation pending against the company for $6.9 million, but Faro and the three individual defendants named in the matter won't have to pay any money because the settlement is covered by insurance, the company said.

  • February 28, 2008

    New Century Fills Gaps In New Disclosure Statement

    A few weeks after New Century Financial Corp. revealed a disclosure statement that left several key details blank, the bankrupt home lender filed an updated statement with new information on claims and planned distribution.

  • February 28, 2008

    Prudential Employees Seek $6.5B In Arbitration Suit

    Prudential Financial Inc. has been sued by a group of current and former employees for $6.5 billion in damages, alleging fraud and breach of contract claims, the company revealed Wednesday.

  • February 28, 2008

    Swiss Re Didn't Disclose Risky Credit Swaps: Suit

    Ripples from the subprime mortgage meltdown continued to broach the insurance industry, as Swiss Reinsurance Co., the world's largest reinsurer, was hit with a shareholder suit after its guarantees of two large, risky pieces of debt forced it to take a $1.07 billion write-down late last year.

  • February 28, 2008

    Firms, FINRA Settle Over Improper Fund Sales

    The U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has reached settlements with five investment firms for the allegedly improper sale of mutual funds, ordering them to pay more than $20 million to reimburse customers, along with $2.4 million in fines.

  • February 27, 2008

    Democrats, White House Spar Over Mortgage Bill

    Democratic leaders and the White House are locking horns over a controversial housing bill aimed at tempering subprime mortgage market woes by helping homeowners faced with foreclosure.

  • February 27, 2008

    Labor Dept. To Hold Hearing On 401(k) Disclosures

    The U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday that it would be holding a public hearing to discuss proposed changes to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 that would require additional disclosure of 401(k) service provider compensation to plan participants.

  • February 28, 2008

    $20M Securities Scam Results In 18-Year Jail Term

    A Massachusetts man who defrauded 250 investors of more than $20 million was sentenced Monday to 18 years in prison by a federal judge in Boston.

  • February 27, 2008

    EU Guidelines Aim To Stabilize Financial Markets

    The European Commission put forth proposed guidelines on Wednesday aimed at making sovereign wealth funds more transparent, predictable and accountable in order to bring more stability to global financial markets.

  • February 27, 2008

    Ropes & Gray Boasts New Office In Chicago

    Ropes & Gray LLP has set its sights on conquering the Midwest market, opening a new office in Chicago with the help of three new partners moving from Mayer Brown LLP.

  • February 27, 2008

    UBS Shareholders Vote Against Subprime Audit

    Shareholders of investment bank UBS AG will stay out of the firm's books and records after voting down a measure proposed by a shareholder activist group that would have kicked off an investigation into the bank's subprime practices.

  • February 27, 2008

    German Government's Aid To Banks Draws Scrutiny

    The European Commission opened an inquiry Wednesday to determine whether a German state-owned bank violated European Union rules by making billion-dollar payments to two private banks to rescue them from losses on their investments in American subprime markets.

  • February 27, 2008

    Former UBS Exec Pleads Guilty On Eve Of Trial

    A former UBS executive has pled guilty to multiple charges related to a scheme that netted millions through allegedly trading on inside information from his employer and Morgan Stanley & Co.

  • February 26, 2008

    UBS Hit With $275M Suit Over Subprime Deals

    German bank HSH Nordbank AG is seeking to recover more than $275 million from UBS AG for alleged fraud involving investments linked to the mortgage market.