- Banks Brace for Bailout Fee
- JPMorgan’s Dimon defends bank’s pay policy
- SEC broadens charges on Bank of America
- Bank Is in Talks to Settle State Claims Over Merrill
- N.Y.’s Cuomo Seeks Bonus Data From Bailed-Out Banks
- SEC Should Probe NY Fed Staff Over AIG, Senator Says
- Pandit Shakes Up Citi’s Upper Ranks
- Federal Reserve earned $45 billion in 2009
- Financier Pang’s Death Ruled a Suicide
- AIG Asks Former Top Lehman Lawyer to Be General Counsel
- Bank of America’s Curl Said to Face Demotion Under Moynihan
Banks Brace for Bailout Fee – Wall Street Journal
The Obama administration is aiming to hit banks with a fee to recoup losses associated with the government’s bailout of financial firms and the auto industry, administration officials say.
The White House hopes the fee will soothe the public’s anger at financial firms. Most big banks that received public funds have repaid the government, but the industry is seen by many as having survived thanks to taxpayer support, and is now enjoying a profit rebound as the economy struggles. This month, many large banks will resume paying big bonuses to employees….
“In our industry, costs are typically passed along to institutions and individual investors, so the burden will likely fall on them,” said Timothy Ryan, president of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. Major banks declined to comment……
JPMorgan’s Dimon defends bank’s pay policy – Reuters
JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon defended the bank’s pay policies on Monday and said he was “tired” of his employees being vilified over bonuses…..
We do not have change-of-control agreements, special executive retirement plans, golden parachutes, special severance packages or merger bonuses,” he told a JP Morgan healthcare conference, adding that many of company’s employees are in client-facing jobs and work hard with small and mid-size businesses.
“I am a little tired of the constant vilification of these people,” he said…..
SEC broadens charges on Bank of America – Washington Post
Federal regulators on Monday moved to expand charges against Bank of America for allegedly lying to investors during the 2008 fall financial crisis, but once again decided against charging the executives or lawyers who signed off on the company’s actions.
The Securities and Exchange Commission initially accused the bank of concealing from investors plans to pay billions of dollars in bonuses to employees at Merrill Lynch before shareholders were asked to approve a merger of the two firms. Now, the SEC is claiming that Bank of America also withheld information about mounting losses at Merrill…..
Although U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York did not approve the SEC’s request to add new charges to its earlier complaint, the SEC plans to file a separate complaint against Bank of America with the new claims…..
Bank Is in Talks to Settle State Claims Over Merrill – NY Times
A year after its controversial takeover of Merrill Lynch, Bank of America is discussing settling a troublesome state inquiry into the star-crossed deal and the billions of dollars in bonuses that Merrill hurriedly paid its employees…..
As the banking industry braces for a furor over a new round of big bonuses, Bank of America is negotiating with the staff of the New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, to settle claims that the bank failed to adequately disclose the risks of the takeover to its shareholders, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Mr. Cuomo has also focused on the bonuses that Merrill paid despite its perilous financial condition……
N.Y.’s Cuomo Seeks Bonus Data From Bailed-Out Banks – Bloomberg
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office demanded information on executive pay from Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and six other U.S. financial institutions that received taxpayer bailout funds.
Cuomo today sent letters asking for a description of each firm’s 2009 bonus pool, how it was established, how compensation is tied to performance, and how the bonus pools have changed, if at all, as a result of the firm’s receiving and repaying taxpayer funds. Almost all the banks have repaid the money……
SEC Should Probe NY Fed Staff Over AIG, Senator Says – Bloomberg
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should investigate whether employees of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York violated laws on corporate disclosure when they asked American International Group Inc. to withhold information from public filings, a Republican lawmaker said.
“I urge you to investigate the apparent violations of the securities laws regarding AIG disclosures,” including the actions of New York Fed staff, U.S. Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky wrote in a letter today to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro…..
Pandit Shakes Up Citi’s Upper Ranks – Wall Street Journal
Citigroup Inc. removed Terri Dial from her job leading the New York company’s U.S. retail bank as part of a broader push by Chief Executive Vikram Pandit to strengthen his leadership team.
Ms. Dial is the highest-ranking woman at Citigroup and one of the first major hires by Mr. Pandit after he became CEO in late 2007. By last summer, though, he was telling colleagues that he wanted to replace Ms. Dial, according to people familiar with the situation……
Federal Reserve earned $45 billion in 2009 – Washingto Post
….The Federal Reserve made record profits in 2009, as its unconventional efforts to prop up the economy created a windfall for the government.
The Fed will return about $45 billion to the U.S. Treasury for 2009, according to calculations by The Washington Post based on public documents. That reflects the highest earnings in the 96-year history of the central bank. The Fed, unlike most government agencies, funds itself from its own operations and returns its profits to the Treasury……
Financier Pang’s Death Ruled a Suicide – Wall Street Journal
California financier Danny Pang committed suicide by taking an overdose of a combination of painkillers and other drugs, the coroner’s office in Orange County, Calif., concluded…..
The cause of Mr. Pang’s death was “combined intoxication” from seven drugs found in his system, according to a written report from the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner. The drugs included oxycodone, hydrocodone and two other painkillers, along with drugs generally used to treat depression and anxiety. The active ingredient in marijuana, known as THC, also was found in his system……
AIG Asks Former Top Lehman Lawyer to Be General Counsel – Wall Street Journal
American International Group Inc. has asked Thomas Russo, the former top in-house lawyer at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., to be its next general counsel, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Russo was the chief legal officer at the Wall Street investment-banking firm for over 15 years through its 2008 bankruptcy, the biggest in U.S. history. He was a close aide of former Lehman CEO Richard Fuld Jr. and left the firm at the end of 2008…..
Bank of America’s Curl Said to Face Demotion Under Moynihan – Bloomberg
Bank of America Corp.’s Gregory Curl, a candidate for chief executive officer last year before Brian Moynihan won the job, may lose his current title as new managers are put in place, said people familiar with the matter.
Curl, 61, may lose the title of chief risk officer when Moynihan assembles his leadership team for the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank, said the people, who requested anonymity because the moves haven’t been announced. Curl didn’t return a telephone call for comment…..
Tags: AIG, Andrew Cuomo, Bank of America, Banks, Barack Obama, Citigroup, Deck shair reshuffling; Ponzi schemes, Fed, Fees, Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Politics, Pound of flesh; SEC, TARP, Vikram Pandit
