Banking Law

Bank account disclosure rule now incorporates ABA proposals to protect client confidentiality

Requiring law firms to disclose the identities of clients and when establishing trust accounts would be inconsistent with ABA Model Rule 1.6.

Aug 1, 2016 12:50 AM CDT

Proposed rules beef up consumer protections in debt collection

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday outlined proposed new rules to rein in third-party debt collectors and debt buyers. The proposed rules require the debt collectors to substantiate the debt before calling consumers; limit their attempted contacts to six times a week; disclose more information about the debt in…

Jul 29, 2016 10:50 AM CDT

Former Dewey chairman owes Citibank $400K, judge finds

A judge in New York has awarded Citibank nearly $400,000 in its suit to recover an unpaid loan from former Dewey & LeBoeuf chairman Steven Davis. Judge Nancy Bannon found last week that Citibank is owed $360,000 for the loan principal plus about $39,000 in interest, the New York Law…

Jul 5, 2016 1:08 PM CDT

2nd Circuit tosses $7.25B swipe-fee settlement; concurring judge calls it a ‘confiscation’

A federal appeals court has overturned a $7.25 billion antitrust settlement because some retailers got a bad deal in a suit challenging swipe fees charged by Visa and MasterCard. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals tossed the deal in a Thursday opinion (PDF) after so many retailers opted…

Jul 1, 2016 10:40 AM CDT

Can city sue mortgage lenders over alleged fair-housing violations? Supreme Court to decide

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to decide whether the city of Miami can sue banks over alleged predatory lending that targeted blacks and Hispanics. The issue in the two consolidated cases is whether the city qualifies as an “aggrieved person” permitted to sue to enforce the Fair Housing…

Jul 1, 2016 7:40 AM CDT

Supreme Court to consider antitrust cases involving ATM fees

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to decide whether consumers and operators of independent ATMs can sue over an alleged antitrust conspiracy to keep ATM fees high. The suits claim that Visa, MasterCard and their member banks conspired to fix access fees at ATMs that aren’t owned by the…

Jun 30, 2016 3:59 PM CDT

FTC sues 2 law firms over claimed mortgage-rescue scheme that cost clients $15M in 2014

The Federal Trade Commission has sued two Southern California law firms, seeking to freeze their assets and appoint a receiver. It says Brookstone Law and Advantis Law raked in $15 million in 2014 by charging clients upfront fees for work such as “legal analysis” and promises of mass joinder in…

Jun 10, 2016 12:30 PM CDT

Court awards over $500K in wrongful dismissal case to rogue trader who cost bank nearly $7B

A rogue trader who cost the French bank that employed him some $7 billion has been awarded over $500,000 in a wrongful dismissal case. A French labor court said Société Générale must have known what Jerome Kerviel was doing, so blaming him for the adverse consequences that ensued and firing…

Jun 7, 2016 4:00 PM CDT

Panama firm obscured the trail of US funds to protect clients’ money from scrutiny, says NY Times

While there can be legitimate reasons for moving funds abroad to shell corporations, wealthy clients of the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca wanted to know, as one put it in an email to the firm: “How does a US citizen legally get funds to Panama without the knowledge of the…

Jun 7, 2016 10:50 AM CDT

Man hurt by SWAT team as he tried to cash check can seek another $3.3M award from Bank of America

When Rodolfo Valladares went to a Florida branch of the Bank of America in 2008, he was just trying to cash a $100 check. But after he was mistaken for a robber by a teller, a SWAT team was called, and Valladares was kicked in the head by responding law…

Jun 3, 2016 3:53 PM CDT

Norton Rose Fulbright raids Sidley for 17-lawyer practice group and opens new San Francisco office

Megafirm Norton Rose Fulbright announced Thursday that it has hired Sidley Austin’s entire public finance practice group. The group includes six partners, and seven of the lawyers will establish a new San Francisco office for Norton Rose Fulbright—the 3,800-attorney megafirm’s 12th in the U.S. and 53rd worldwide, according to the…

Jun 3, 2016 9:47 AM CDT

CFPB announces proposed rule to curb ‘payday debt trap’ lending to consumers

Short-term “payday loans” can potentially be a real benefit to individuals like John Charette. The 47-year-old Maine man, like many Americans, has bad credit and lacks savings. So he took out a $250 payday loan in Portland to update his vehicle registration, knowing that a ticket would cost him even…

Jun 3, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

In 156 government cases against big banks, only 47 people have been charged

Only 47 people have been charged in 156 criminal and civil cases filed by the government since 2009 against the nation’s 10 largest banks, according to a newspaper analysis. Most of those charged had junior or midlevel jobs at the banks, according to the findings by the Wall Street Journal…

May 27, 2016 5:45 AM CDT

Appeals court overturns $1.27 billion penalty for Countrywide’s sale of risky mortgages

A federal appeals court has overturned a $1.27 billion civil penalty against Bank of America for risky loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by its Countrywide unit. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that the government had failed to prove Countrywide acted…

May 24, 2016 2:20 PM CDT

Chance to work on ‘biggest disputes in trial work’ lures small litigation boutique to Boies Schiller

A small New York boutique known for its lawyers’ complex litigation skills will be joining forces with Boies, Schiller & Flexner next month. Former federal prosecutor Sean O’Shea, 59, who served as business securities fraud section leader for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn before forming his own firm 20…

May 24, 2016 6:18 AM CDT