Meanwhile, some banking officials—including a BOE representative speaking in NYC yesterday—contend that the legal expenses related to financial misconduct enforcement actions and litigation (roughly $275 billion for global...more
10/21/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Barclays ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Dark Pool ,
Financial Markets ,
Hedge Funds ,
Internet Lenders ,
Investors' Exchange (IEX) ,
Nasdaq ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Tobacco
Federal regulators unveiled a proposal yesterday that would push the country’s biggest banks and other “critical financial companies” to shore up cybersecurity protocols, to prevent hacks, and to have a recovery plan at the...more
10/20/2016
/ Bank Accounts ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Bonds ,
Cross-Selling ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Earnings Reports ,
Economic Development ,
Embezzlement ,
Fraud ,
Hackers ,
Identity Fraud ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insider Trading ,
Tax Evasion ,
Uber ,
Wells Fargo
China’s expected to announce Q3 economic growth of 6.7 percent this week—a number envied by any other country in the world but the sign of major slowdown there. Dealbook looks at what, exactly, a less-gangbusters Chinese...more
10/19/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Banks ,
BlackRock ,
China ,
Data Breach ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Global Economy ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Hackers ,
HSBC ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Junk Bonds ,
Loans ,
Mergers ,
RMBS ,
Salesforce ,
Social Media ,
Twitter ,
Verizon ,
Yahoo!
Some thoughts—from Chair Yellen, herself—about why, despite pretty strong economic indicators for a pretty long time now, the Fed hasn’t begun to raise rates again....more
10/17/2016
/ ATMs ,
Bank of America ,
Banks ,
Caterpillar ,
China ,
Chip and PIN ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Heavy Equipment ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Investment Management ,
Point of Sale Terminals ,
Retailers ,
RMBS ,
Securities Violations
Holding companies appear to be an important new feature of the “living will” revisions the big banks have been making in an effort to appease the Fed and FDIC’s efforts to stamp out “too big to fail” entities. The idea is for...more
10/13/2016
/ Bank Accounts ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Corporate Culture ,
Cross-Selling ,
Federal Reserve ,
FinTech ,
Fraud ,
Holding Companies ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Russia ,
Tone At The Top ,
Toyota ,
Wells Fargo
The Journal gives us a closer look at Italy’s Monte dei Paschi—the world’s oldest bank (founded in 1472)—that’s deeply tied to Siena and that’s threatening to drag the whole of the region’s economy down with it if it fails,...more
10/4/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cross-Selling ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
Germany ,
Italy ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Och-Ziff ,
RMBS ,
Royal Bank of Scotland ,
Underwriting ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo
NY hedge fund Och-Ziff has agreed to pay a $413 million fine as part of a deferred-prosecution agreement with US regulators over allegations that it was involved in the payment of more than $100 million in bribes to African...more
9/30/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Bribery ,
Cross-Selling ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Deutsche Bank ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Fraud ,
Germany ,
Hedge Funds ,
IBM ,
Investment ,
Natural Resources ,
Och-Ziff ,
Wells Fargo
OPEC has reached a tentative deal among its 14 member nations to “modestly cut” their oil output toward the end of the year in an effort to shore up sagging oil prices–an announcement that immediately sent global oil prices...more
9/29/2016
/ Anheuser-Busch ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Cross-Selling ,
Energy Sector ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
Google ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Mergers ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Oil & Gas ,
OPEC ,
Underwriting ,
Wells Fargo
It wasn’t exactly a direct reaction to his testimony on the Hill, but Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf didn’t do himself any favors there, and Wells Fargo’s Board has announced that it will claw back an estimated $41 million in...more
9/28/2016
/ AIG ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Clawbacks ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Cross-Selling ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Elon Musk ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Fraud ,
Indonesia ,
Insurance Industry ,
Life Insurance ,
NCUA ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Payday Loans ,
RBS ,
RMBS ,
Technology Sector ,
Tesla ,
Wells Fargo
We learned yesterday that Twitter’s shopping itself around for a buyer. It’s facing one big complication, though—the sizeable amount of stock Twitter has doled out to its employees over the years. Last year, for example,...more
9/27/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
American Express ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Credit Cards ,
Cross-Selling ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Disney ,
EBITDA ,
Energy Sector ,
Facebook ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Fraud ,
Germany ,
Indonesia ,
Insider Trading ,
Lands End ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Offer ,
Social Media ,
Standard Chartered Bank ,
Stock-Based Compensation ,
Stocks ,
Twitter ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Wells Fargo ,
White Collar Crimes
Well, see, Yahoo just doesn’t have enough on its plate these days. So why not the revelation that hackers stole data on 500 million users in 2014? The hack—thought to be a state-sponsored affair—is likely the biggest data...more
9/23/2016
/ Anbang ,
Apple ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Corporate Culture ,
Cross-Selling ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Markets ,
Hackers ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insider Trading ,
Marriott ,
Search Engines ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tesla ,
Tone At The Top ,
Wall Street ,
Wells Fargo ,
Yahoo!
As most expected, the Fed held rates steady yesterday. Though its divided FOMC and Chair Yellen’s comments about an improving economy seem to portend a rate hike before the end of the year....more
9/22/2016
/ Anthem Blue Cross ,
Banks ,
CIGNA ,
Energy Sector ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreclosure ,
Forex ,
Insider Trading ,
Interest Rates ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mortgages ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wells Fargo
Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee yesterday, Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf admitted that the illegal sham-account-creation activity at the heart of its recent SEC fine may have begun earlier than first reported....more
9/21/2016
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Apple ,
ATMs ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Barclays ,
Bitcoin ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Interest Rates ,
Japan ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Libor ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
Tesla ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wells Fargo
The hits just keep on coming for Wells Fargo, who now is facing questions about its failure to prime the market for news of its $185 million SEC settlement earlier this month. The main concern with that tack is that Wells...more
9/20/2016
/ Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Elon Musk ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Government Investigations ,
Mergers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Tesla ,
Unjust Enrichment ,
Wells Fargo
Gretchen Morgenson and Fair Game have had a few days to reflect on the Bayer/Monsanto deal, and with that little bit of hindsight (and a lot of history), she’s not too sure that Bayer’s stockholders are going to be thrilled...more
9/19/2016
/ Agribusiness ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Bayer ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Fees ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
High Frequency Trading ,
Job Creation ,
Mergers ,
Monsanto ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prepaid Payment Products ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
RMBS ,
Unemployment ,
Wells Fargo
The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation—a nonprofit that represents execs from many of the US’s largest banks—will release a paper today arguing that the Fed illegally sidestepped the APA by adopting “central parts of its...more
9/15/2016
/ Agribusiness ,
Algorithmic Trading ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banks ,
Bayer ,
Bonds ,
Capital Markets ,
Dark Pool ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Motors ,
Mergers ,
Monsanto ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stress Tests ,
Transparency ,
Wells Fargo
In a closely watched and dissected speech yesterday, Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard told the crowd gathered at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs that she favored “prudence” in raising rates despite recent signs of...more
9/13/2016
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Bank Accounts ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Financial Markets ,
Hedge Funds ,
Interest Rate Adjustments ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Stocks ,
Wells Fargo
We’ve got a number for that Wells Fargo settlement/fine, and it’s a doozy: $185 million for illegal banking practices (including secretly issuing credit cards without customer consent, signing up customers for online banking...more
9/9/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Commodities ,
Cybersecurity ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Discovery ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Junk Bonds ,
Private Equity ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Wells Fargo
Continual rejections worked for Hershey in fending off Mondelez’s takeover bid. The Deal Professor thinks that Tronc faces considerable risks in following the same strategy with Gannett’s repeated overtures....more
8/31/2016
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Acquisitions ,
Apple ,
Banks ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Google ,
Hersheys ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Mergers ,
Monsanto ,
Public Offerings ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sharing Economy ,
Stock Exchange ,
Tax Evasion ,
Theranos ,
Uber ,
Whistleblowers ,
Zika
The SEC’s opened an inquiry into Hampton Creek in response to a Bloomberg report that the Just Mayo maker used undercover contractors to purchase its non-egg mayonnaise product in bulk not long before HC raised $90 million...more
8/22/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Banks ,
Biotechnology ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Motors ,
Interest Rates ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Lyft ,
Mortgages ,
Olympics ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Sharing Economy ,
Subprime Mortgages ,
Valeant ,
Washington Mutual
A SDNY jury has found former JPMorgan banker Sean Stewart guilty of insider trading based on allegations that Stewart was leaking confidential information about health care company mergers to his dad....more
8/19/2016
/ Banks ,
Cisco ,
Confidential Information ,
Financial Institutions ,
Healthcare ,
Hedge Funds ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Insider Trading ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Mergers ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Sharing Economy ,
Uber ,
UK Brexit
Billionaire hedge-fund manager Steven Cohen (he, formerly of SAC Capital Advisors) has agreed to be barred from commodities trading until 2018 under the terms of a settlement announced by the CFTC yesterday....more
8/17/2016
/ Automotive Industry ,
Banks ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Driverless Cars ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Ford Motor ,
Gawker ,
Hedge Funds ,
MetLife ,
Reorganizations ,
SIFIs ,
Trading Platforms
More details have emerged from the February cyberheist that resulted in the theft of more than $81 million from Bangladesh’s account at the NY Fed, including a pretty significant lack of critical concern from the bank itself....more
8/15/2016
/ Advertising ,
Automotive Loans ,
Banks ,
China ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
FHLB ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Google ,
Investment Funds ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Moody's ,
Nasdaq ,
Ratings ,
RBS ,
RMBS ,
Securities ,
Share Buybacks ,
Stocks ,
Takeover Bids ,
Venezuela ,
Volcker Rule
Look to Miami for the latest legal troubles for the country’s biggest banks. After most have finally put to bed the remnants of Great Recession RMBS litigation, a new tack by the city is looking to hold them responsible for...more
8/3/2016
/ Allergan Inc ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Digital Currency ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreclosure ,
Hackers ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
HSBC ,
Instagram ,
Merck ,
Mortgages ,
Olympics ,
Procter & Gamble ,
Quarterly Report ,
Referendums ,
Snapchat ,
Social Media ,
Startups ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Wall Street
A federal judge in Idaho has dismissed a $24 billion lawsuit against Credit Suisse alleging that the bank and real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield ran a “predatory loan-to-own scheme that . . . loaded four luxury ski and...more
7/29/2016
/ Amazon ,
Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Credit Suisse ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivatives ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Electric ,
Google ,
Industry Examinations ,
Olympics ,
Oracle ,
Predatory Lending ,
Quarterly Report ,
Real Estate Market ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Terrorism Funding ,
UK ,
UK Brexit