national-global

JPM Probed for Possibly Obstructing Probe; Nasdaq Malfunctions Again

09/05/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ... A Probe Within a Probe: Just when you thought we would go a week without learning new details about JPMorgan Chase's regulatory troubles, reports surface that the nation's largest bank is currently being probed about possibly obstructing a probe. As it turns out, the Justice Department's criminal investigation into whether JPM manipulated U.S. energy markets (remember that one?) is really focused on whether the bank withheld information from regulators during the Federal…

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S&P Versus DOJ, Retaliation Edition; EU Proposes Tough Money Market Rules

09/04/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

S&P vs. DOJ, Retaliation Edition: Well, this is an interesting tactic. Standard & Poor's is arguing that the federal government is suing the firm in retaliation for stripping the U.S. of its AAA credit rating back in 2011. Per S&P's latest court filing, "the government's 'impermissibly selective, punitive and meritless' lawsuit was brought 'in retaliation for defendants' exercise of their free-speech rights with respect to the creditworthiness of the United States of...

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B of A and Citi Scale Back; Global Regulators Eye Bank 'Bail-In' Plans

09/03/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Downsizing: Bank of America is selling its stake in China Construction Bank for up to $1.5 billion, reports the Journal, which obtained a term sheet on the deal. The bank has yet to comment on the reason for the sale, but the article notes "market experts remain wary about Chinese banks' asset quality after a huge credit boom in China aimed at stimulating the country's economy in the last few years." Bank...

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Fed Rule Violation; General Electric Exits Retail Lending

08/30/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Fed Staff Violates Rules: It's not just the banks, folks, it's also the regulators. The Federal Reserve's inspector general says the Fed violated its own rules when a staff member inadvertently emailed minutes from a March policy meeting a day early. Oops. The email went to 150 people including some of the biggest banks and investment firms on Wall Street plus congressional staffers. The IG says the Fed failed to provide sufficient...

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Regulators Release Softened QRM Proposal; Bank of England to Keep Rates Low

08/29/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Sweet Partial Victory: Bankers were mostly happy with a revision that softens the criteria for qualified residential mortgages. A provision of the Dodd-Frank Act requires banks and other lenders to retain 5% credit risk of loans they sell on the secondary market that don't fit QRM requirements. However, regulators revised the definition of the QRM exemption and it is so broad that 98% of loans last year would have been covered, the...

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Regulators Line Up to Fine JPM; B of A's Merrill in Blockbuster Bias Settlement; Inside the Finances (and Hobbies) of Fed Governors

08/28/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Jamie's Cryin': If you are most CEOs, you know it's going to be a tough day when you wake up to read lots of stories about your company that quote people "familiar with the matter." For Jamie Dimon, it is just another day in August. ... The Federal Housing Finance Agency wants $6 billion in connection with its lawsuit alleging that JPMorgan sold Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac $33 billion of tainted...

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Arrest in 'London Whale' Case; Online Payday Lender Quits Amid Regulatory Scrutiny

08/27/13

Breaking News This Morning ...

Arrest in 'London Whale' Case: Javier Martin-Artajo, former JPMorgan Chase employee and "London Whale" supervisor, was arrested Tuesday in Madrid after turning himself in to Spanish police. Martin-Artajo is one of two former JPM traders facing criminal charges filed by U.S. prosecutors over the bank's $6 billion trading debacle. Julien Grout, the other trader charged, has yet to be arrested. Wall Street Journal, Reuters Receiving Wide Coverage ... ...

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Regulators Unwind Nasdaq's Shutdown

08/26/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Nasdaq's Knock Out: Regulators and exchange officials continued digging up more information as to what caused Nasdaq's three-hour shutdown on Thursday. The Journal reports it was a two-minute window where rival electronic market NYSE Arca could not connect with the Nasdaq after numerous attempts, according to unnamed sources. But Robert Greifeld, the chief executive of the Nasdaq-OMX Group, says it was because the U.S. equity market is a "fragmented landscape," the FT...

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Nasdaq Tech Woes; Moody's Threatens Big Bank Downgrade; Jackson Hole Preview

08/23/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Nasdaq Outage: The Nasdaq stock exchange went down for three hours on Thursday, after a technical glitch caused connectivity issues and interrupted its ability to quote prices. The failure "delivered another black eye to Nasdaq, which was bruised by last year's botched initial public offering of Facebook," reports the Journal. This incident, coupled with Goldman's rogue computer problems from earlier this week, has also raised new questions about the high-speed, computerized structure…

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Wells to Cut More Mortgage Jobs; Fed to Appeal Swipe Fee Ruling; SEC to Propose CEO Pay Rule

08/22/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

More Mortgage Job Cuts: Wells Fargo says it plans to cut 2,300 mortgage-related jobs nationwide. The FT calls the cuts, which are the third and largest wave of mortgage-related layoffs Wells has announced this year, "part of a renewed push by John Stumpf, chief executive, to cut Wells' overall costs to help offset lower mortgage lending and falling profit margins." The Journal suggests the news is ominous. "The job cuts highlight the...

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