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Morning Scan: Citi Fined $425M; Rare Financial Crime Charges

05/26/16

Receiving Wide CoverageÂ... Citigroup was fined $425 million by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Wednesday, for claims that it tried to manipulate several interest-rate benchmarks between 2007 and 2012. However, it appears the bank could avoid any criminal charges, as the Department of Justice said it had closed its investigation already told Citi it would not prosecute over Libor. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times. Wall Street Journal Â...

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Morning Scan: Libor Looms Over 2Q Results; In Swift We Must Trust

05/25/16

Wall Street Journal

JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America and other banks could take a hit to their second quarter profit from litigation charges and fines, as a Libor manipulation case revived earlier this week raised the possibility of liability for violation of antitrust laws. Such violations could require them to pay triple damages. But for now, it remains to be seen what, if any, penalties are incurred. Firms that choose to deal with the problem...

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Morning Scan: BofA Libor Ruling Overturned; Swift Security

05/24/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Overturned: A $1.27 billion penalty against Bank of America was overturned Monday by a federal appeals court. A three-judge panel said federal prosecutors failed to prove Countrywide Financial, later acquired by B of A, had defrauded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac when it sold them troubled loans in 2007 and 2008. While it found Countrywide knew it was selling faulty loans there was a lack of evidence of intent to deceive at...

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Morning Scan: Banks Keep Branches; P2P Lending Not a Threat

05/23/16

Wall Street Journal

Enough with the big bank-small bank divide, says First National Bank of Dennison chairman and chief executive Blair Hillyer. Competition between differently sized banks is better for customer experience and better for business, he says. It's difficult when all banks are operating "with Washington as our co-CEO," but nevertheless it is important "to work together if we're going to remain relevant in this brave, new financial world." His comments came in a letter...

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Morning Scan: Lending Club's Morgan Stanley Ties; Credit Cards Soar

05/20/16

Wall Street Journal

As Columbia Law School professor Robert Jackson noted in an op-ed on Thursday, there needs to be a source of real competition for the credit-card pushers, namely online marketplace lenders, so consumers with below-average credit scores can have access to credit at somewhat reasonable rates.

Because there's clearly demand. Credit card balances in the U.S. could hit $1 trillion this year. That would be near the $1.02 trillion peak posted in July 2008. The...

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Women in Banking: B of A's "Bros Club;" Fed Diversity Push

05/20/16

A female executive sues Bank of America, accusing the company of being a "bros club" and paying her less than male colleagues; Democrats call on the overwhelmingly "white and male" Fed to prioritize diversity; Goldman, which lags when it comes to female leadership, names a new CEO for its bank unit, coincidentally swapping in a man for a woman. Also, Ruth Porat, chief culture officers, and the stubborn gender pay gap.

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Morning Scan: Google, Which Banned Payday Loan Ads, Is a Payday Loan Investor

05/19/16

Wall Street Journal

Google last week said it planned to ban advertising from payday lenders, in a bid to offer protection to its consumers from predatory loans. Oh by the way, Google is an investor in the payday lender LendUp. Google has been involved in every equity round that LendUp has staged, via its parent company's venture capital arm. LendUp has raised a total of $150 million in debt and equity, making it one of Silicon...

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Morning Scan: JPMorgan Seals Off Swift Security Holes; Title Lenders Targeted?

05/18/16

Wall Street Journal

JPMorgan Chase is trying to seal off potential gaps in its security system by limiting which employees can access Swift. Unnamed sources said JPMorgan began reducing employee access in recent weeks.

The move comes after two Asian banks were breached through the use of Swift's global interbank messaging service. ...

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Morning Scan: Laplanche's Final Days at Lending Club; Treasury Market Watchdog

05/17/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Laplanche's Selective Disclosure: The Justice Department would like to have a few minutes with the founder of LendingClub, and a few of his former colleagues at the online marketplace lender. A DOJ grand jury subpoenaed the company on Monday, LendingClub said in a regulatory filing, without disclosing details of the nature of the subpoena. LendingClub said it's cooperating. LendingClub also said Monday it's looking for additional funding for its loans. ...

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Morning Scan: LendingClub's Burned Investors; Swift Hack Victim ID'd

05/16/16

New York Times

Investors were getting the short shrift from online marketplace lender LendingClub before its chief executive quit amid allegations of improper loans, news that sent its stock into a tailspin. That's because LendingClub was stingy in its disclosure of crucial financial data, making it difficult for investors to assess the company's financial health, Gretchen Morgenson writes for the Times. ...

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