Banking Law

Citigroup to Settle Investor Suit over CDO Losses for $590M

Citigroup has agreed to pay $590 million to settle an investor lawsuit that claims the bank failed to disclose its holdings in collateralized debt obligations backed by subprime mortgages. Citigroup denied wrongdoing and said it settled because of the uncertainties and expense of litigation, report the Wall Street Journal (sub.…

Aug 30, 2012 2:46 PM CDT

Bank Fires Customer Rep for Using Fake Dime at Laundromat in 1963, Cites New Regulations

Fearful of $1 million-a-day fines under new regulations, banks have fired thousands of employees, according to a California lawyer who has helped some of the workers regain their jobs. New regulations adopted in May 2011 and in February bar banks from employing anyone convicted of a crime involving dishonesty, breach…

Aug 30, 2012 12:35 PM CDT

Bank Sends Foreclosure Notice to Woman Who Made $70K in Payments for House She Didn’t Own

A Pennsylvania woman is suing her lender and a former lawyer for Ohio Bar Title Insurance after learning she has made nearly $70,000 in payments for a house she doesn’t own. Sheila Layo claims the lawyer, closing agent Richard Hallock, never recorded the deed or mortgage for her Scranton townhouse…

Aug 27, 2012 12:54 PM CDT

Law Firm Sues Regions Bank over Alleged Paralegal Pilfering

A Nashville law firm has sued Regions Bank in an effort to recover law firm money deposited by a paralegal accused of embezzling $126,000. The Fisher Law Group alleges paralegal Timothy Sharpe deposited checks written to the law firm into his personal account at the bank over the course of…

Aug 23, 2012 12:09 PM CDT

Payday Lenders Using Courts to Create Modern-Day Debtors’ Prisons in Missouri, Critics Say

A practice in Missouri of summoning debtors to civil court for an “examination” is resulting in arrests and prompting critics to complain about modern-day debtors’ prison tactics in the state. While Missouri’s Bill of Rights explicitly declares “no person shall be imprisoned for debt, except for nonpayment of fines and…

Aug 20, 2012 10:52 PM CDT

Customers Targeted by Workers at Big-Name Banks in Multimillion Dollar ID Theft Schemes

Employees of some of the nation’s biggest banks have reportedly been stealing customers’ identities in multimillion dollar fraud schemes. A federal judge in Minneapolis on Monday sentenced two claimed leaders of a $50 million bank fraud conspiracy to well over 20 years in prison, the Associated Press reports. Julian Okeayaninneh…

Aug 15, 2012 7:02 PM CDT

British Bank Agrees to $340M Deal to Settle Laundering Claim

British bank Standard Chartered has struck a deal to pay $340 million to New York’s top banking regulator to settle claims that it laundered billions of dollars for Iran and lied to regulators. The New York Times reports that the agreement is a victory the 10-month-old New York Department of…

Aug 15, 2012 12:05 PM CDT

Oregon Chief District Judge Blasts High Cost of Legal Ed

The chief judge for the U.S. District Court of Oregon, used some opinion space to criticize higher education, especially law schools, for saddling graduates with oppressive debt. Details of a March 5 opinion by U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken were reported in an article following up on an Oregonian series…

Aug 13, 2012 2:49 PM CDT

TD Bank Sues Lawyer’s Widow over His Alleged Fraudulent Transactions

TD Bank has sued the widow of a Washington, D.C., real estate lawyer, claiming he committed fraud in loan applications before his death from cancer. The suit (PDF) against the widow of lawyer Frank Pearl claims the bank would not have approved a $16 million credit extension involving a corporation…

Aug 10, 2012 1:28 PM CDT

Federal Judge Sanctions Law Firm and Client re Withheld Docs, Finds TD Bank Knew of Rothstein Fraud

Saying that a well-known law firm and its client bank had often handled a major case “in an Inspector Clouseau-like fashion,” a federal judge in Miami has sanctioned both for what she called a “pattern of discovery abuses before, during, and after trial.” U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke declined, however,…

Aug 6, 2012 11:02 AM CDT

Law Firm Is Target of First Civil Enforcement Action Filed by New Consumer Agency

A Los Angeles law firm is being targeted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in its first civil enforcement action filed in federal court. The Gordon Law Firm is accused of charging homeowners upfront fees for loan modifications and then doing little or nothing to assist the clients, according to…

Jul 31, 2012 3:40 PM CDT

New Consumer Agency Announces First Enforcement Action, Accuses Capital One of Deceptive Marketing

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken its first public enforcement action days before its one-year anniversary. The CFPB accused Capital One Bank of using deceptive tactics in its marketing of credit cards, report the New York Times DealBook blog, the Huffington Post and the Hill’s On the Money Blog.…

Jul 18, 2012 3:10 PM CDT

Elderly Man Accused of Pointing Fingers Like a Gun at Bank Employees Sues over His Arrest

An elderly man who was arrested based on allegations he pointed his fingers like a gun and threatened bank employees has filed a lawsuit against the institution. Wolfgang Eichert of West Milford, N.J., claims in the suit that employees of Valley National Bank in Butler made false and malicious statements…

Jul 18, 2012 12:42 PM CDT

LA Files Big-Bucks Suit Against ‘Slumlord’ US Bank, Blames Lender for Condition of Foreclosed Homes

In a big-bucks lawsuit that blames U.S. Bank NA for the condition of some of the approximately 1,500 foreclosed homes to which it holds title as trustee, the city of Los Angeles seeks to hold the lender responsible for what it alleges are substandard conditions in many of the bank’s…

Jul 17, 2012 6:20 PM CDT

Trade Group Rejects $7.25B Deal that Allows Retailers to Charge More for Credit Card Purchases

A trade group that represents convenience stores is rejecting a price-fixing settlement with the credit card industry that is valued at $7.25 billion. The settlement announced Friday affects Visa, MasterCard and several major banks, report the New York Times, the Washington Post, Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal. Merchants…

Jul 16, 2012 3:19 PM CDT