Post Tagged with: "law"
Bank Holiday is Best Solution for Epidemic of Mortgage Fraud
by L. Randall Wray, Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Research Director with the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability and Senior Research Scholar at The Levy Economics Institute. We have long known that lender fraud was rampant during the real estate boom. The FBI began warning of an “epidemic” of
Foreclosure crisis much deeper than robo-signers
I haven’t been writing about the foreclosure documentation crisis because I have been more focused on the ‘currency war’. But I want to flag three posts I wrote about this time last year on the mortgage and securitization market because they are relevant to this burgeoning foreclosure documentation crisis. The robo-signer problem is just a
Goldman Fraud Case With SEC Settled
Goldman Sachs (GS) and the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) have announced a settlement of the suit over the Abacus security case which was a civil action charging fraud by Goldman. According to the SEC announcement, which I watched on CNBC, Goldman will pay $550 million in disgorgement and penalties. In spite of this being
Dykstra Tells Creditors To Pile it On And They Oblige
Let’s re-visit one of the more salacious stories to hit the papers in the post-Bernie Madoff era. I’m talking about the story of Lenny ‘Nails’ Dykstra, the former all-star baseball player turned stock picker made by TheStreet.com’s Jim Cramer. Dykstra ran into a bit of trouble last year after the market turned down. The Wall
BP: The Mother of all Egregious Violators
By John Lounsbury. Here is some astounding news: BP PLC (BP) has 97% of the most serious safety violations at U.S. refineries over the past 35 months. In the very top "egregious" category, BP has 99.9% of all violations. Most have occurred at two refineries, Texas City, TX and Toledo, OH. The Texas City refinery
Goldman may settle fraud case on lesser charge
I expected this (hat tip Scott). Goldman Sachs is hoping to avoid the Securities and Exchange Commission’s charge of fraud by reaching a settlement on a lesser offence and agreeing to a fine of hundreds of millions of dollars, according to people familiar with the bank’s negotiating position. Goldman, which has been accused of civil
Goldman’s public purpose and where I have problems with the Abacus deal
As I said yesterday, investment banks are institutions which do fulfil a useful role in society. I would define their role as companies where large institutions and governments receive financial advice and raise capital. Goldman Sachs is an investment bank. As such, Goldman must offer financial advisory services, capital markets origination, and secondary market support
Business as usual on Wall Street and political posturing in Washington
In 2007, a credit crisis centred in the US subprime market began. It metastasised into a monstrosity of epic proportions that led to the worst and only synchronized global downturn since the Great Depression three-quarters of a century ago. The result was a massive bailout of the largest financial institutions in America and around the
Prepared Testimony of Lloyd C. Blankfein for Tomorrow’s Senate Hearing
Below are the prepared remarks of Goldman’s CEO Lloyd Blankfein for his testimony tomorrow before the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations. Fabrice Tourre will also testify. Chairman Levin, Ranking Member Coburn and Members of the Subcommittee: Thank you for the invitation to appear before you today as you examine some of the causes and consequences of
Guest Post: Questions from the Goldman Scandal
This is a post by Bill Black and Eliot Spitzer which originally appeared at New Deal 2.0. Bill Black is an associate professor of economics and law at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC). He was the executive director of the Institute for Fraud Prevention from 2005-2007. Eliot Spitzer is the former New
Why don’t the President’s ethics rules apply to Greg Craig, now at Goldman
"As far as the White House is concerned, it’s case closed for Greg Craig’s newest legal venture representing Goldman Sachs against the Securities and Exchange Commission. Administration spokesmen brushed aside questions about whether it was improper for Goldman to hire Craig, who served as Obama’s chief counsel for nearly a year before leaving due to
Bill Black: Lehman’s demise is "a story of fraud"
Veteran regulator believes Lehman Brothers is a case of fraud and believes the Feds need to bring charges. But, more than that, Black hones in one the mortgage fraud which underlies much of the speculative fervour in the market by citing the 60% of GSE eligible Citi loans which Citigroup executives indicated did not conform