Banking Law

NY Judge Nixes Bank’s Foreclosure Judgment Because Process Server Didn’t Keep Records

Opening a door to a potential defense that apparently has largely or entirely gone unnoticed in mortgage foreclosure cases, a New York judge last month overturned a bank judgment because a process server didn’t keep records required by law. A former police officer working for A&J Process Service admitted to…

Jan 12, 2012 10:02 PM CST

Supreme Court Upholds Arbitration Provision in Credit Card Contract

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that consumers who received the Aspire Visa credit card are bound by a mandatory arbitration provision in their applications. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion (PDF) in the case, CompuCredit Corp. v. Greenwood. The decision overturns a ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th…

Jan 10, 2012 4:29 PM CST

New IRS Program Allows Those with Secret Offshore Accounts to Avoid Prosecution

A new Internal Revenue Service program announced today allows individuals who evaded income tax by keeping assets in secret offshore bank accounts to avoid prosecution and pay reduced penalties by voluntarily disclosing their wrongdoing. They will also be required to identify bankers and other advisers who helped them, Bloomberg notes.…

Jan 9, 2012 9:55 PM CST

SEC Sues Life Partners for Defrauding Shareholders

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed suit against Life Partners Holdings Inc. and three top executives for defrauding shareholders in life settlement deals. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brian D. Pardo, President and General Counsel R. Scott Peden and Chief Financial Officer David M. Martin have been accused of…

Jan 5, 2012 9:21 PM CST

Stanford Investors Sue Proskauer, Chadbourne and Ex-Partner Sjoblom in Texas State Court

Mexican plaintiffs who invested with accused Ponzi schemer R. Allen Stanford have filed three nearly identical lawsuits in Texas state court against lawyer Thomas Sjoblom and two law firms where he previously worked. The suits, which seek class-action status, claim Sjoblom aided and abetted the fraud by obstructing an SEC…

Jan 5, 2012 5:45 PM CST

Bankers Charged at Oldest Swiss Bank With Hiding $1.2 Billion From U.S. Government

U.S. prosecutors charged employees at Switzerland’s oldest bank this week of scheming with wealthy U.S. taxpayers to hide more than $1.2 billion. Wegelin & Company confirmed the indictment of three of its bankers Wednesday, a day after the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York announced charges…

Jan 4, 2012 6:22 PM CST

Despite Widespread Wrongdoing, Fed’l Prosecution of Institutions Involved in Mortgage Mess is Rare

Despite widespread evidence of fraud and other wrongdoing, federal prosecutions related to the reckless mortgage lending that nearly brought down the nation’s banking system in recent years are few and far between. From the “robosigning” of thousands of mortgage foreclosure documents by individuals who apparently didn’t have authority to do…

Dec 22, 2011 8:35 PM CST

SEC Sues Former Fannie and Freddie Officials over Subprime Loan Disclosures

The Securities and Exchange Commission alleges in civil suits filed today that six former executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac downplayed the mortgage firms’ exposure to risky subprime mortgages. The defendants included former Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd and former Freddie Mac CEO Richard Syron, report Bloomberg News, the…

Dec 16, 2011 5:14 PM CST

Judge Kills Foreclosure Over Law Firm’s Late Verifications, Speculates re ‘Conflicted Robosigner’

A New York judge has dismissed a mortgage foreclosure case, with prejudice, because of a well-known law firm’s delay in submitting to the court verifications that it took reasonable steps to check the accuracy of documents filed on the lender’s behalf. The verifications, which have been routinely required in foreclosure…

Dec 13, 2011 6:49 PM CST

SEC Sues SIPC, Seeks to Force Industry Insurer to Ante Up for R. Allen Stanford Customer Losses

In what may be the first such case ever brought, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed suit against a securities industry insurance fund, seeking to force it to liquidate the operation of R. Allen Stanford, reports the Houston Chronicle. If the SEC suit against the Securities Investor Protection…

Dec 13, 2011 3:51 PM CST

Senate Blocks Cordray to Head New Consumer Bureau in Spat over Its Powers

Democrats failed to get enough votes on Thursday to stop a filibuster of President Obama’s nominee to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Republicans say they won’t approve anyone to head the bureau until the law is changed to subject the agency to more accountability, report the New York…

Dec 9, 2011 12:31 PM CST

Bose McKinney Name Partner’s ‘Transformative’ $24M Gift Results in Name Change for Indy Law School

Corrected: A “transformative” $24 million gift by a name partner of Bose McKinney & Evans has already achieved one major change at Indiana University’s law school in Indianapolis—its name. As of yesterday, when the donation by Robert H. McKinney, 86, was announced, the institution is now known as the Indiana…

Dec 2, 2011 12:25 PM CST

Deputies Refuse to Evict 103-Year-Old Woman

Sheriff’s deputies and movers sent to evict a 103-year-old Atlanta woman and her 83-year-old daughter on Tuesday refused to do the job after television crews arrived. The woman, who turns 104 in December, has lived in the home for 53 years with her daughter, who is now 83, report WSBTV.com…

Nov 30, 2011 12:57 PM CST

Judge Rakoff Rejects Citigroup Deal; Ruling Could Cause ‘Chaos’ in SEC Enforcement

A federal judge who has balked at previous bank settlements has refused to approve a proposed $285 million deal with Citigroup proposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of Manhattan refused to approve the settlement today, saying it was “neither fair, nor reasonable, nor…

Nov 28, 2011 6:45 PM CST

Bloomberg: Secret $7.77T in Fed Loans, Limits and Guarantees Saved Banks, Helped Industry Earn $13B

Corrected: Saved by a stunning amount of secret low-interest emergency loans by the Federal Reserve at the same time they were assuring their investors that they were on solid financial footing during the financial crisis, a number of the nation’s banks also lobbied successfully against regulatory reform. Now the industry…

Nov 28, 2011 6:30 PM CST