A judge on Monday rejected a proposed $285 million settlement between Citigroup Inc and the top U.S. market regulator over the sale of toxic mortgage debt and ordered a trial.
In a written opinion, Manhattan federal court judge Jed Rakoff said the proposed settlement was "neither reasonable, nor fair, nor adequate, nor in the public interest."
The rejection was not a surprise since the judge had made clear at a November 9 hearing that he had major problems with the proposal.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused Citigroup of selling a $1 billion mortgage-linked collateralized debt obligation, Class V Funding III, in 2007 as the housing market was beginning to collapse, and then betting against the transaction.
One Citigroup employee, director Brian Stoker, was also charged by the SEC. He is contesting those charges.
Representatives of Citigroup and the SEC could not immediately be reached for comment.
The case is SEC v Citigroup Global Markets Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-07387.
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Showing posts with label too big to fail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label too big to fail. Show all posts
Monday, November 28, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
What do the Titanic and Bank of America have in common.....Occupy Wall Streeters would have a view!!!
Bank of America is a behemoth beyond control. The destruction of shareholder value in its recent history is shocking. The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 19 that the bank has spent $148 billion on acquisitions since 1998 and today its market value is only about $65 billion.
Bank of America is also a badly managed bank. In 2008, Ken Lewis, then the chief executive officer, agreed to pay about $4 billion to buy Countrywide, a disastrous foray into mortgage origination and distribution that will probably end up costing shareholders more than $60 billion. Eric Schneiderman, the New York state attorney general, is calling for a full investigation of mortgage abuses; egregious and allegedly illegal behavior at Countrywide must be very much in his sights.
Lewis bought Countrywide after a year’s worth of due diligence -- what was he thinking? -- and then grabbed Merrill Lynch over a weekend in September 2008, apparently without much thought. Significant additional losses were the result.
Bloomberg News reported on Oct. 18 that regulators have allowed Bank of America to move highly risky derivatives contracts -- and the associated downside risk -- from Merrill Lynch into the insured retail deposit-taking part of the bank.
Bank of America is also a badly managed bank. In 2008, Ken Lewis, then the chief executive officer, agreed to pay about $4 billion to buy Countrywide, a disastrous foray into mortgage origination and distribution that will probably end up costing shareholders more than $60 billion. Eric Schneiderman, the New York state attorney general, is calling for a full investigation of mortgage abuses; egregious and allegedly illegal behavior at Countrywide must be very much in his sights.
Lewis bought Countrywide after a year’s worth of due diligence -- what was he thinking? -- and then grabbed Merrill Lynch over a weekend in September 2008, apparently without much thought. Significant additional losses were the result.
Bloomberg News reported on Oct. 18 that regulators have allowed Bank of America to move highly risky derivatives contracts -- and the associated downside risk -- from Merrill Lynch into the insured retail deposit-taking part of the bank.
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