Banking Law

Bank of America Settles With SEC, Faces New Suit from NY AG

The Bank of America today settled two Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory complaints over its handling of Merrill Lynch & Co. losses and bonuses by agreeing to pay a $150 million fine and improve the bank’s corporate governance rules. The agreement must still be approved by the federal judge overseeing…

Feb 4, 2010 7:08 PM CST

Senate Panel’s Money-Laundering Report Seeks More Lawyer Regulation

A report released today by a Senate panel blames unregulated American lawyers, among others, for the nation’s money-laundering problems, and calls for an attorney exemption from money-laundering restrictions under the Patriot Act to be repealed. Information from the 325-page report by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will also be discussed…

Feb 4, 2010 1:52 AM CST

Lawyer Sues Sallie Mae Over ‘Unrelenting’ Student Loan Robocalls

A Seattle lawyer who says Sallie Mae harassed him with “unrelenting” automated collection calls is suing for at least $500 in damages for each unwanted contact. Lawyer Mark Arthur is seeking class action status for the suit, filed in federal district court in Seattle, according to the Puget Sound Business…

Feb 3, 2010 12:53 PM CST

Law Prof Says Underwater Borrowers Suffer from ‘Norm Asymmetry’

Why are so many underwater borrowers continuing to pay their mortgages, even though it would be cheaper to just walk away? Millions of borrowers owe more than their homes are worth, but most continue to pay, the New York Times reports. Lenders on the other hand, feel free to play…

Jan 29, 2010 11:30 AM CST

Davis Polk Lawyers Were to Be Gatekeeper for AIG PR in Secrecy Effort

When American International Group used bailout money to pay $62 billion to its bank trading partners to retire bad bets on credit default swaps, lawyers scrambled to keep the arrangement under wraps. Their solution: Send all securities filings, press releases and significant communications to the Fed’s outside counsel, Davis Polk…

Jan 26, 2010 4:16 PM CST

Debt Collection Law Firm Abruptly Closes; Thousands of Cases Dismissed

A debt collection law firm with 24 offices around the country has abruptly closed, resulting in dismissal of tens of thousands of cases in Maryland alone. The Rockville, Md.-based law firm, Mann Bracken, and its clients had been accused in civil suits of using high-pressure tactics and violating debt-collection laws,…

Jan 15, 2010 1:10 PM CST

Harvard Law Prof’s ‘Lightning Bolts’ are Losing Power Over Financial Firms, Analyst Says

The frightening prospect to those in the financial industry of seeing a well-known Harvard University law professor at the helm of a proposed new federal consumer watchdog is lessening by the day. Legislative support for creating the independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency proposed by President Barack Obama is rapidly waning,…

Jan 12, 2010 9:36 PM CST

Lenders May Cut Borrowers’ Principal to Prevent Costly Foreclosures

Several years ago, it would have been virtually unheard of. But a number of lenders are now sometimes willing to consider reducing or deferring part of a borrower’s principal balance on an upside-down mortgage in order to avoid taking an even more costly hit if the loan goes into foreclosure…

Jan 7, 2010 8:41 PM CST

Pig Exits Python: Securities Class Actions Plummet 24% in ‘09 as Credit Crisis Eases

As the mortgage meltdown and credit crisis eased, the number of federal securities class actions filed in 2009 over alleged stock fraud dropped sharply, compared both to the previous year and a 10-year average. There were 169 such filings in 2009, a 24 percent reduction from the 223 in 2008,…

Jan 6, 2010 8:34 PM CST

Angry About 27.99% Credit Card Rate, Lawyer Refuses to Pay, Threatens Suit

In a move that will undoubtedly strike a sympathetic chord with other credit card users hit with hefty interest charges despite longtime records of timely monthly payments, a California trial lawyer is taking an unusual new legal approach to the issue. Unless and until the Bank of America lowers his…

Jan 6, 2010 5:44 PM CST

Owners Making Agreed Loan Payments Can Lose Their Homes Without Notice

The federal Home Affordable Modification Program is supposed to help struggling owners get revised mortgage terms that will make it possible for them to hold onto their personal residences. But only a small fraction of those who apply are being approved by lenders, even when they are making trial revised…

Dec 18, 2009 12:29 AM CST

Bank of America’s 44-Day GC Gets Chief Executive Job

The former general counsel of Bank of America has been chosen as its new chief executive. Brian Moynihan, 50, was chosen late Wednesday, according to stories in the New York Times, Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). He joined Bank of America in 2004 when it acquired…

Dec 17, 2009 1:09 PM CST

Billionaire Stanford & His Lawyers Held in Contempt Over Legal Fees Suit

Granting a motion filed by insurer Lloyd’s of London, a federal judge in Dallas today found billionaire and accused swindler R. Allen Stanford and his counsel in contempt. They violated a court order, found U.S District Judge David Godbey, by attempting to collect reimbursement for Stanford’s defense costs under a…

Dec 16, 2009 10:51 PM CST

Paul Hastings Faces $55M Suit over Loan Advice

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker is facing a lawsuit over legal advice it gave to a private equity firm making a loan for the purchase of assets owned by troubled retailer Steve & Barry’s. Ableco Finance, a unit of Cerberus Capital Management, claims in the suit that it lost $55…

Dec 15, 2009 2:38 PM CST

Evicted Farmer Asks Judge to Order Bank to Care for His Animals

Forced to abandon his farm due to a mortgage foreclosure action, a Rhode Island farmer says he was assured by Wells Fargo Bank that his animals would be cared for. But after seeing strangers walk off with some animals and hearing that remaining horses and pigs apparently hadn’t received water…

Dec 9, 2009 6:23 PM CST