Nomura Holdings (NMR) and Royal Bank of Scotland group Plc (RBS) must pay $806 million in the mortgage-backed securities lawsuit filed against them by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. $779.4 million will go to mortgage lender Freddie Mac (FMCC) while $26.6 million will go to Fannie Mae (FNMA). Judge Denise…
“The Financial Coach” Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Bryan C. Binkholder, also known as the “The Financial Coach,” will serve nine years in prison for bilking clients. Binkholder used books, a talk show, and YouTube videos to market his “hard money lending” program. According to prosecutors, he touted himself as…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has decided to take tougher actions against brokers who violate suitability standards. The regulator is recommending that the National Adjudicatory Council, which oversees disciplinary proceedings, raise its suggested suspensions for brokers who make unsuitable recommendations from one year to two years. FINRA wants brokers who…
Bloomberg says that according to sources familiar with the matter, in addition to the penalty that Barclays Plc (BCS) is expected to pay to resolve the U.S. Justice Department’s case for interest currency benchmark rigging, the bank will also likely have to pay a fine for violating an earlier settlement…
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) panel has ordered UBS Financial Services, Inc. and UBS Financial Services of Puerto Rico (collectively “UBS”) to pay an investor $200,000 for losses she sustained by investing in UBS’s Puerto Rico closed-end bond funds. This is the first known ruling from a FINRA arbitration…
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) arbitration panel recently ordered Goldman Sachs Inc. (“Goldman”) to pay $80 million in compensatory damages plus millions more in interest to National Australia Bank Ltd. (“NAB”), resulting in an award likely to cost Goldman (GS) more than $100 million. According to the award and…
Credit rating agency Moody’s Investor Service has downgraded the credit rating for the city of Chicago, Illinois to junk, reducing the rating of its $8.1 billion of general obligation by two to Ba1, along with a negative outlook. That’s right under investment grade. The reduction lets banks demand that the…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging Novus Financial and principals Brady J. Speers and Christopher A. Novinger with making false claims about life settlements. The regulator filed its claim in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. According to the SEC’s complaint, from ’12 – ’14,…
A U.S. District Court judge said that Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) and Nomura Holdings Inc. (NMR) misled Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae when it sold them faulty mortgage-backed securities in 2008. The two banks are the only financial firms who opted to go to trial rather than…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is suing eCareer Holdings Inc. and its executives for fraud. According to the regulator, the online staffing company bilked over 400 investors of $11 million when it miserpresented the company and sold shares that were unregistered. Also accused of fraud are three boiler room brokers…