The SEC has approved rules granting the agency more control over credit rating agencies and obligates asset-backed securities issuers to reveal additional information about underlying loans. S.E.C. Chairwoman Mary Jo White says that the reforms will give investors crucial protections while making the securities market stronger. The rules target the…
Now that it has repaid the majority of its customers, MF Global Inc. wants the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan to let it pay $295 million to its creditors. Most of the funds would go toward unsecured creditors, who would get a first distribution of approximately 20%. Holders of priority…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says that Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (C) will pay a fine of $1.85 million for not providing best execution in about 22,000 customer transactions of non-convertible preferred securities, as well as for supervisory deficiencies that went on for over three years. Affected customers are to…
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) will pay $3.15 billion to buy back residential mortgage-backed securities related to bonds that were sold to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The repurchase represents an approximately $1. 2billion premium and makes the mortgage companies whole on the securities. The RMBS case was brought by…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has filed a disciplinary complaint against Wedbush Securities Inc. that accuses the firm of violations related to anti-money laundering and systemic supervision. The self-regulatory organization says that from January 2008 through August 2013, Wedbush did not put enough of its resources towards supervisory systems, risk-management…
Bank of America (BAC) and the U.S. Department of Justice have arrived at a $16.65 billion mortgage settlement. Under the agreement, the lender will pay $9.65 billion to the DOJ, the SEC, other government agencies, and six states. The remaining $7 billion will be paid in the form of aid…
SEC Wants To Extend Temporary Rule Letting Dually-Registered Advisers Get Principal Trading Consent For the third time in four years, The Securities and Exchange Commission wants to extend a temporary rule that makes it easier for investment advisers that are also registered as brokers to sell from the proprietary accounts…
Pension funds, former employees, investment firms, and banks with unsecured claims against Lehman Brothers Holdings are finally getting an initial payout of $4.6 billion. That’s about 71% of the unsecured claims against the broker-dealer to be recovered. These creditors of the firm have waited years to get their money back,…
The Securities and Exchange Commission introduced a two-year plan to examine municipal advisers who assist localities and states to raise money in the $3.7 trillion municipal bond market. During this period, regulators plan to look at a significant chunk of the approximately 1,000 SEC-registered municipal advisers. These advisers are usually…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has put out an investor alert warning against buying stocks in companies claiming to combat viral diseases. The self-regulatory organization says it knows of several possible schemes involving stock promotions employing tactics such as pump-and-dump scams to inflate share prices. The scammers will then sell…