According to six Federal Home Loan Banks, the investors of Countrywide Financial Corp.’s mortgage bonds may be entitled to three or more times more than what the proposed $8.5 billion securities settlement reached with Bank of America Corp (BAC) is offering. Bank of America acquired Countrywide in 2008. Under the…
Articles Posted in Financial Firms
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC to Pay $850K to Settle Securities Charges Over Alleged Failure to Prevent Inside Trading
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC has consented to pay $850,000 to resolve Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it failed to set up and enforce policies to prevent possible insider trading. The financial services firm also agreed to cease from further violations of laws that prevent the misuse of material, nonpublic…
Ex-Morgan Stanley Trader’s $25k Settlement Over Alleged Concealment of Proprietary Trades is Inadequate, Says SEC Commissioner Aguilar
Jennifer Kim, an ex-Morgan Stanley (MS) trader, has consented to a $25,000 settlement to resolve SEC allegations that she hid proprietary trades that that went above and beyond the financial firm’s risk limits. The alleged misconduct resulted in approximately $24.5m in losses for Morgan Stanley. SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar, however,…
Wells Fargo Settles Mortgage-Backed Securities Class Action Case for $125M
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) has consented to pay $125 million to settle allegations that it misled investors about the risks involved in mortgage-backed securities. The plaintiffs in the class action securities lawsuit include a number of public pensions, including the New Orleans Employees’ Retirement System, Government of Guam Retirement…
Wedbush Ordered By FINRA Panel To Pay $3.5M to Trader Over Withheld Compensation
A Financial Industry Regulator Authority Panel has ordered WedBush Securities Inc. to pay one of its traders over $3.5 million for refusing to properly compensate him. According to claimant Stephen Kelleher, he worked for the financial firm for years without consistently getting the incentive-base compensation that he was promised as…
FINRA Panel Orders Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corporation to Pay $64M Over Losses Sustained by Rosen Capital Institutional LP and Rosen Capital Partners LP
Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corporation must pay hedge funds Rosen Capital Partners LP and Rosen Capital Institutional LP $63,665,202.00 in compensatory damages plus interest (9% from October 7, 2008). A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel issued the order which found the respondent liable. In their statement of claim, made…
JPMorgan Chase to Pay $211M to Settle Charges It Rigged Municipal Bond Transaction Bidding Competitions
JPMorgan Chase & Co. will pay $211 million to settle charges that its JP Morgan Securities LLC Division rigged dozens of bidding competitions for reinvesting the proceeds from municipal bond transactions to win business from local and state governments. The settlement is for complaints that the US Securities and Exchange…
$750,000 Arbitration Award Against Stone & Youngberg LLC Confirmed by District Court
A district court has confirmed an arbitration panel’s $750,000 award to the Kay Family Revocable Trust in its securities case against Stone & Youngberg LLP. The trust sustained financial losses when its money was invested in the FutureSelect Prime Advisor II, which had most of its capital invested with Ponzi…
Morgan Keegan Settles Subprime Mortgage-Backed Securities Charges for $200M
According to the SEC, FINRA, and state regulators, Morgan Keegan & Company and Morgan Asset Management have consented to pay $200 million to settle subprime mortgage-backed securities-related charges. Also agreeing to pay penalties over their alleged misconduct are Morgan Keegan comptroller Joseph Thompson Weller and ex- portfolio manager James C.…
Washington Mutual Bank Bondholders’ Securities Fraud Lawsuit Against J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is Revived by Appeals Court
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeal has revived a securities fraud lawsuit filed by bondholders of the now failed Washington Mutual Bank against JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM.N). The plaintiffs had accused the investment bank of causing them to suffer financial losses because it purchased the thrift’s assets at…