According to the Financial Times, Lloyds Banking Group (LYG) is expected to soon announce that it has agreed to pay up to $509M to settle London Interbank Offered Rate rigging allegations. The settlement would include moneys to be paid to UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and The U.S.’s Commodity Futures Trading…
Investor Lawyers Blog
Investors Pursue UBS’s Puerto Rico Brokerage Over Closed-End Bond Funds
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is reporting that roughly 400 claims have already been filed against UBS Financial Services Inc. of Puerto Rico (UBS) and other brokerage firms over the fallout of municipal bonds and bond funds related to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As the U.S. territory’s bonds continue…
Morgan Stanley to Pay $275M to Settle SEC RMBS Fraud Charges
Morgan Stanley (MS) has consented to resolve Securities and Exchange Commission residential mortgage-backed securities charges by paying $275 million. The regulator had accused the firm of misrepresenting the delinquency status of mortgage loans behind two subprime RMBS during the peak of the financial crisis. According to the SEC, not only…
Net Asset Value of Tony Thompson’s Former Nontraded REIT Strategic Realty Trust Plunges
Investors in Strategic Realty Trust Inc. have been notified that the NAV of the nontraded real estate investment trust has dropped almost 30% from $10/share to $7.11/share. The REIT, previously known as TNP Strategic Realty Trust Inc., has a portfolio that includes over a dozen shopping centers. Shareholders received a…
Bank of America Settles RMBS Allegations with AIG for $650M
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) has paid American International Group Inc. (AIG) $650 million to settle residential mortgage-backed securities fraud claims. The insurer had originally asked for $10 billion when it filed its RMBS fraud lawsuit in 2011. According to the complaint, Bank of America’s mortgage company Countrywide Financial, misrepresented…
FINRA Wants To Delay Implementing Rule Impacting Nontraded REIT Customers’ Statements
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to grant a delay in the implementation of proposed changes to rule 2340, which impacts customer account statements. The self-regulatory organization had originally asked for the modifications to go into effect six months after the SEC approves the rule…
Barclays and Deutsche Bank Under Scrutiny Over Barrier Options Transactions
The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations plans to conduct a hearing over what it believes are abusive transactions made by financial institutions. Bloomberg is reporting that Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), Barclays PLC (BARC), and hedge fund manager Renaissance Technologies LLC will have representatives testifying at the hearing. The July…
Natural Blue Resources Inc. & Microcap Stock Scammers Accused of Hiding Previous Violations
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against microcap company Natural Blue Resources Inc. and four persons for purportedly hiding from investors that two of them had previously broken the law. The regulator has suspended trading in Natural Blue stock. Natural Blue’s mission was to acquire, establish, or invest…
FINRA May Expel Ex-Broker For $6M Hedge Fund
Dean Mustaphalli, an ex-Sterne Agee Financial Services Inc. broker, could be barred from the industry over allegations that he ran a $6 million hedge fund on the side. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc., Mustaphalli founded and got commissions from Mustaphalli Capital Partners in 2011 but did not…
Citigroup Settles Mortgage-Backed Securities Probe with DOJ for $7 Billion
Citigroup (C) has reached a $7 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations it misled investors about mortgage-backed securities in the time leading up to the 2008 financial meltdown. The settlement includes a $4 billion penalty to be paid to DOJ, $2.5 billion in consumer relief, and…