Banking Law

False Rumors Hit U.K. Bank’s Stock Hard; Officials Pursue ‘Market Abuse’

Updated: Seeking to profit from the current climate of financial uncertainty, unscrupulous traders have allegedly spread false rumors that banks in the United Kingdom are in trouble and then profited from short sales of their stock on the London market in a “trash ‘n cash” scheme. A false rumor yesterday…

Mar 20, 2008 4:20 PM CDT

‘Feeding Frenzy’ Over Expected Lawyer Layoffs at Bear Stearns

Updated: Although it’s not yet confirmed, observers expect that a significant number of the 100 or so lawyers in the compliance department of Bear Stearns Cos. will be laid off once the investment bank’s buyout at a fire-sale price by JPMorgan Chase is completed. So legal recruiters are hovering, hoping…

Mar 20, 2008 3:30 PM CDT

Bear Stearns Rescue Shows Legislators Have Work to Do

In the short run, the story of the successfully averted almost-collapse of the nation’s fifth-largest investment bank is a tale of triumph over near-disaster. But, in the long run, it is likely to be seen as a rallying cry for increased regulation of the reckless mortgage lending that caused the…

Mar 18, 2008 9:42 PM CDT

Hot Topic Post-Bear Stearns: Investment Safety Rules

After seeing the value of one of the nation’s investment banking giants plummet disastrously virtually overnight this week, investors are now wondering about the safety of assets held in brokerage accounts. But there is little likelihood that their assets are at risk, at least as far as accounts that don’t…

Mar 18, 2008 9:12 PM CDT

2nd Circuit: Probation for Lawyer in $100M Fraud Too Lenient

A former general counsel for a hotel chain apparently is going to have to serve time for his role in a $100 million bank fraud scheme, according to a federal appeals court ruling this week. The New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out both the term…

Mar 18, 2008 7:16 PM CDT

Rogue Trader in $7B SocGen Case Says Boss Watched

Jerome Kerviel says he used his manager’s computer at least one occasion as he racked up more than $7 billion in losses for French bank Société Générale. And, as he traded, he contends, his boss and colleagues sometimes watched, according to the London Times and Agence France-Presse. Kerviel also told…

Mar 17, 2008 4:36 PM CDT

Federal Money Mavens Propose New Mortgage Rules

Weighing in on the issue of the nation’s troubled mortgage market, a group of top federal economic policy-makers assembled by President George Bush is recommending stricter standards for the industry. The proposed new rules include tougher federal and state regulation of financial institutions; a national licensing system for mortgage brokers;…

Mar 13, 2008 9:08 PM CDT

Securities Suit Filed Against SocGen Cites ‘Culture of Risk’

A securities suit has been filed against Société Générale over the French bank’s disclosures about its subprime mortgage holdings and the internal controls that failed to prevent a reported loss of more than $7 billion attributed to a single rogue trader. Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll says it has sued…

Mar 12, 2008 6:04 PM CDT

Fla. Lawyer Fights Charges He Hid Bank Losses

A government lawyer argued yesterday that a former partner at Greenberg Traurig covered up crimes at a Miami bank that was eventually shut down for fraud. The Office of Comptroller of the Currency is seeking a $250,000 fine and a cease-and-desist order against Carlos Loumiet to prevent him from giving…

Mar 12, 2008 5:18 PM CDT

Lawyers Await New Century Examiner’s Report

A bankruptcy examiner’s report about problems at subprime lender New Century Financial could be unsealed as early as this week. The report is likely to address advice by auditor KPMG, which was involved in accounting changes that forced New Century to restate earnings in February, the Recorder reports. The audit…

Mar 10, 2008 1:40 PM CDT

Foreclosure Data Hits New Record High

Mortgage foreclosure data released today puts defaults on home loans at a new record high. But even worse numbers may be on the horizon. “The Mortgage Bankers Association reported Thursday that the number of loans past due or in foreclosure jumped to 7.9 percent, from 7.3 percent at the end…

Mar 6, 2008 9:59 PM CST

Two Florida Lawyers Accused of Making ‘Sham’ Claims for Credit Card Holders

Two Florida lawyers and their affiliated firms are accused in a lawsuit of making “sham” claims on behalf of consumers seeking to avoid payment of credit card debt. The suit by Chase Bank claims the lawyers falsely tell customers that the credit card company violated the federal Fair Credit Billing…

Mar 6, 2008 1:42 PM CST

McGuireWoods Merges With N.C. Law Firm

McGuireWoods is merging with a 120-lawyer firm in North Carolina, a move that will increase the larger firm’s roster to almost 900 lawyers. Currently McGuireWoods has just one North Carolina office, in Charlotte. The merger gives it additional offices in Raleigh and Wilmington and increases the number of lawyers in…

Mar 6, 2008 11:43 AM CST

Lawyer, Client Sanctioned $29K for Client’s Profanity-Laced Deposition

U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno of Philadelphia has tallied the number of times a litigant dropped the F-word or a variant in a deposition—it was 73 times—and calculated the sanction he and his lawyer should pay—it is more than $29,000. The client, Aaron Wider, is CEO of HTFC Corp., a…

Mar 5, 2008 2:39 PM CST

Stricter Bank Regulation Likely, Following Mortgage Meltdown

Next month, a limited phase-in of newly revised international banking standards known as “Basel II,” after the Swiss city in which they were developed, is planned in the U.S. The revised rules call for financial institutions to be given more discretion to run their own businesses, because they are, in…

Mar 4, 2008 10:22 PM CST