JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) says it will pay $4.5 billion to investors for losses that they sustained from mortgage-backed securities that were purchased from the firm and its Bear Stearns Cos. during the economic crisis. The institutional investors include Allianz SE (AZSEY), BlackRock Inc. (BLK), Pacific Investment Management Group,…
MSRB Makes Defining Fiduciary Duty Central to Developing Municipal Advisor Regulatory System Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board says that in coming up with a regulatory system for municipal advisors it’s number one priority is to get clear about the statutory fiduciary duty that these entities would owe to their local and…
SEC Member Presses Regulator to Stick to Its Core Mission When Figuring Out Priorities Securities and Exchange Commission member Daniel Gallagher wants the regulator to focus more on its mission when determining its regulatory agenda. He said that the SEC’s three mandates must always be considered: maintaining markets that are…
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations Director Andrew J. Bowden, next year the regulator intends to examine about 4,000 registered investment financial advisors who have never been visited by its inspectors before. Bowden said that the agency will target about 50% of firms…
At a Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association conference last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Trading and Markets acting director John Ramsay said that the regulator will likely consider reworking a 2012 proposal that would establish margin requirements on specific swap trades now that international financial supervisors…
American Insurance Group and one of its ex-executives, Kevin Fitzpatrick, have reached a settlement deal over his $274 million lawsuit against the insurer. Fitzpatrick, the former president of the AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp. unit, claims that his then-employer would not pay him during the 2008 economic crisis. The…
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. CEO Jeff Sprecher says there is a problem with US equity markets in that they allow sophisticated traders to take advantage of small investors. Speaking to analysts a conference call, he spoke about how new structure markets hurt small investors because the current atmosphere is not kind…
US House Passes A Bill Prohibiting the US Labor Department DOL From Amending Its Definition of “Fiduciary” Until SEC’s Uniform Conduct Standard is Established A bill that would not allow the Department of Labor to amend its rules regarding the definition of the term “fiduciary” until after Securities and Exchange…
In the wake of the Puerto Rico Bond Crisis, our securities fraud lawyers cannot help but wonder why advisors of UBS Financial Services of Puerto Rico, Inc. (UBS) recommended that retiree and conservative investors get involved with municipal bonds that had close to junk ratings. Now, many of these investors…
A judge has thrown out a securities lawsuit by shareholders accusing Bank of America Corp. (BAC) of concealing that insurer AIG (AIG) intended to file a $10 billion fraud case against it. U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in Manhattan said that BofA and four of its officers were not obligated…