Finance

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 2 -- Bank of America Corporation today said the Board of Directors has authorized approximately $713 million in dividend payments to the U.S. government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The company this year has paid the government $1.83 billion in TARP dividends through September 30.

Dividends related to the government's investment in the company under TARP include the following:    » read more »

Groups call for enactment of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) to oversee shifting credit card practices

September 28, 2009 -- Washington, DC – A Consumer Action and Consumer Federation of America analysis of recent credit card industry practices found that card issuers are using a variety of costly, unfair tactics that will not be eliminated under an impending new law. These expensive and exploitive practices demonstrate the need for ongoing oversight of the credit card industry by a new consumer agency.

Card issuers are also hitting consumers with charges that will be forbidden under the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which takes effect in February, 2010.    » read more »

September 30, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to curb record-high foreclosure rates across the country and stabilize the housing market, U.S. Senator Jack Reed today introduced legislation that will help keep families in their homes and prevent communities from deteriorating as a result of skyrocketing mortgage defaults.    » read more »

New County-By-County Report Estimates More Than Half a Million New York Seniors Fall Victim to Consumer Fraud

September 16, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - To combat fraud and protect seniors, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today unveiled her plan to crack down on financial fraud against seniors, increase penalties on those scamming seniors, increase awareness of criminal tactics, and hold workshops across New York on financial literacy to empower seniors to protect themselves and their life savings.

A new report from Senator Gillibrand's office estimates that over half a million New York seniors fall victim to consumer fraud each year.    » read more »

Washington, D.C., Sept. 17, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted unanimously to take several rulemaking actions to bolster oversight of credit ratings agencies by enhancing disclosure and improving the quality of credit ratings.

Credit rating agencies are organizations that rate the creditworthiness of a company or a financial product, such as a debt security or money market instrument. In particular, the Commission voted to adopt or propose measures intended to improve the quality of credit ratings by requiring greater disclosure, fostering competition, helping to address conflicts of interest, shedding light on rating shopping, and promoting accountability.    » read more »

New AARP Survey Shows Support For Increased Consumer Protections in Financial Industry

September 14, 2009 -- Washington, DC – AARP Executive Vice President, Nancy LeaMond released the following statement in response to President Obama’s speech today on Wall Street:

“Older Americans saw their retirement savings decimated by the economic crisis. AARP has long maintained that consumers must be armed with as much information as possible so that they can make sound financial decisions. In a world where individuals must plan for their own financial futures, information is imperative and greater protections are needed in the marketplace.    » read more »

September 14, 2009 -- Washington, DC--Today, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) released the statement of Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger on the anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse. Said Burger:

"When Lehman Brothers fell, they took not just the rest of Wall Street, but all of Main Street, down with them. Yet, one year later, the greedy CEOs who caused the collapse are unremorseful, unrepentant, and virtually unchanged.

"You'd think that the collapse of over 90 banks in one year alone would be a powerful 'lesson learned' for the titans at big financial houses, but on Wall Street, it's back to 'business as usual.'    » read more »

In response to Kaufman’s letter, SEC Chairman says agency will undertake broader review

September 14, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC - On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the bankruptcy that sent shock waves down Wall Street and throughout the country, Senator Ted Kaufman (D-DE) will deliver a speech highlighting the failure to enact comprehensive financial regulatory reform in the 365 days since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

He will also detail the critical need for the nation's financial regulatory agencies to adopt a forward-looking approach to regulation - one that recognizes manipulation and wrongdoing before it metastasizes and leads to systemic failures or seriously undermines market credibility, fairness and investor confidence.    » read more »

Washington, D.C., Sept. 1, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the distribution of more than $35 million in Fair Funds to more than 98,000 investors in Cardinal Health, Inc. who were harmed by a fraudulent revenue and earnings management scheme.

The SEC's enforcement action against Cardinal Health in July 2007 alleged that the company presented a false picture of its operating results to the financial community and the investing public — one that matched its publicly disseminated earnings guidance and analysts' expectations rather than its true economic performance. Cardinal Health settled the SEC's charges and paid $35 million in penalties and disgorgement that were placed into the Fair Fund being distributed.    » read more »

August 31, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - A federal court in Newark, N.J., denied Schering-Plough Corp. a $473 million refund in connection with two transactions in which Schering-Plough sought to avoid taxation on $690 million in profits it repatriated from offshore subsidiaries into the United States.

In 1991 and 1992, Schering-Plough entered into Strippable Increasing Principal Swaps (STRIPS) transactions created by its financial advisor, Merrill Lynch. These transactions involved interest rate swap agreements with most of the receive legs assigned to Schering-Plough's controlled Swiss subsidiaries. The transactions were designed to bring previously untaxed profits made by Schering-Plough's foreign subsidiaries into the United States without paying the tax owed on repatriation.    » read more »

August 25, 2009 -- Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Joseph M. Demarest, Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the FBI, announced the arrest this morning of Hassan Nemazee, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nemazee Capital Corporation, in connection with a scheme to defraud Citibank, N.A. (Citibank).    » read more »

August 27, 2009 -- WASHINGTON—James M. Davis, 60, the former chief financial officer of Houston-based Stanford Financial Group (SFG), pleaded guilty today to fraud and obstruction charges related to a $7 billion scheme to defraud investors, Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division, and Tim Johnson, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, announced.

Davis was charged in a criminal information, filed on June 18, 2009, with conspiracy to commit mail, wire and securities fraud; mail fraud; and conspiracy to obstruct a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation. The criminal information also seeks forfeiture of up to $1 billion in fraud proceeds.    » read more »

(Phoenix, Ariz. – August 4, 2009) Responding to a report issued today on the results of the federal “Making Home Affordable” loan modification program, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard again called upon mortgage loan servicers to ramp up their efforts to help homeowners at risk of foreclosure.

According to the report, Arizona lenders and servicers vary greatly in the results of their modification programs. Many of the lenders with the biggest Arizona market shares have only single-digit success rates in their modification programs.    » read more »

July 8, 2009 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced she has signed a bill that regulates credit card marketing on campus to college students and restricts debt collection actions that can be taken by credit card companies against parents.

“Students are already burdened with education loans by the time they leave college. They risk taking on even more financial pressure when they give in to the lure of credit cards made available to them right on campus,” Governor Rell said. “This bill will set strict parameters for credit card companies on when, where and how they can market to students.”    » read more »

HUD Secretary announces eligibility for borrowers up to 125% underwater in Las Vegas with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Congresswoman Dina Titus

July 1, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced an expansion of the Obama Administration's Home Affordable Refinance Program to include participation by borrowers who are current but up to 125 percent underwater on their mortgage.

Under authorization provided by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, borrowers whose mortgages are currently owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will now be allowed to refinance those loans according to the terms of the Home Affordable Refinance program established earlier this year.    » read more »