Morgan Stanley (MS) has reached an agreement in principal with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve claims related to its sale of mortgage bonds. The government probe looked into allegations that the financial firm misrepresented the quality of home loans that were packaged into bonds. The broker-dealer, however, still…
UBS Group AG (UBS) is under scrutiny over losses related to its V10 Enhanced FX Carry Strategy. The complex financial product was sold to fund managers, businesses, and individual investors and touted as a high-yielding foreign-exchange investment that employed computer algorithms to reduce risks during volatile times. Unfortunately, according to…
New information regarding HSBC Holdings PLC’s (HSBC) history of aiding tax evaders has been released by ex-employee Hervé Falciani to a number of media outlet, as well as the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The data alleges that the bank kept secret accounts for a number of wealthy, celebrity, and/or…
SEC Commissioners Luis Aguilar and Kara Stein, both Democrats, say that they were among those that voted to grant Oppenheimer & Co. (OPY) special benefits even after the brokerage firm committed rules violations. It was just last month that the broker-dealer consented to pay a $20 million penalty while admitting…
According to The Wall Street Journal, internal documents show that Bank of America Corp. (BAC) used its Bank of America National Association, a subsidiary backed by the U.S. government, to finance controversial trades that allowed certain clients to get around paying taxes. A bank spokesperson said that the practice, which…
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department is going to try to make four big banks plead guilty to criminal anti-trust charges related to its traders’ alleged collusion in foreign-currency markets. The financial institutions are Citigroup Inc. (C), Barclays PLC (BARC), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), and J.P.…
A FINRA panel has expelled John Carris Investments LLC, along with Chief Executive Officer George Carris from the securities industry. Bot are accused of suitability violations and fraud. According to the panel, Carris and JCI were reckless when selling shares of stock and promissory notes. They purportedly left out material…
Reuters is reporting that in 2011, before the prices of UBS Financial Services Inc. of Puerto Rico’s (UBS) proprietary bond funds dropped, the firm’s chairman, Miguel Ferrer, told brokers to either start selling more UBS Puerto Rico bond funds or find a new job. He spoke after the brokerage firm’s…
According to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. prosecutors and regulators are probing the Asian hiring practices of J.P. Morgan (JPM) and a number of other banks. The probe focuses on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which is a U.S. law that prohibits giving anything of value to foreign government officials…
The Christ Church Cathedral of Indianapolis is suing JPMorgan (JPM) for securities fraud. The church contends that the financial firm purposely mismanaged its money over the last ten years, causing $13 million in losses. Eli Lilly, the founder of pharmaceutical giant of the same name, gifted a large trust fund…