HISTORIC FINANCIAL REFORM BILL PASSED July 15, 2010 US LAWMAKERS last night passed a landmark financial reform bill allowing the broadest overhaul of rules governing America’s largest financial institutions since the 1930s. The Senate approved the bill by a 60 to 39 vote last night and will now send it to President Barack Obama to sign into law next week. The bill, which [...]
Obama’s reforms at a glance July 15, 2010 SYSTEMIC RISK A council of regulators chaired by the secretary of the Treasury would be created to monitor big-picture risks in the financial system. The Financial Stability Oversight Council could identify firms that threaten stability and subject them to tighter oversight by the Federal Reserve. The Fed and the council could break up firms that [...]
Some good bits – but lots of bad stuff July 15, 2010 SO there you are: President Obama has finally got his Wall Street reform bill, a gargantuan, 2,315-page piece of legislation over which politicians and lawyers will argue for years. As we explain on page 1 and below, there is a huge amount of detail in the final version, with rules governing everything from investment banks [...]
US reform bill could have impact on UK July 15, 2010 SWEEPING changes to the US financial regulation landscape could effect the UK, argued lawyers yesterday. While it remains unclear what kind of knock on effect the bill will have on the UK, some London lawyers were last night predicting a flood of financial bodies would move operations from New York to the City. “US banks [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 15, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES CREST ADVISERS SHUN £350M HORIZON BID A £350m offer for Crest Nicholson was in jeopardy on Thursday night after advisers to the debt-burdened housebuilder told its lender-owners to reject the bid as too low. A steering committee representing Crest’s creditors, which took control of the housebuilder following a £630m debt-for equity swap last [...]
Goldman pays SEC $550m to kill fraud case July 15, 2010 GOLDMAN SACHS has agreed to pay $550m (£356m) to settle civil fraud charges over how it marketed a subprime mortgage product, ending months of negotiations that rattled the bank’s clients and weighed on its share price. The investment bank has now paid the largest-ever penalty by a Wall Street firm to the Securities and Exchange [...]
RBS recoups a $100m payout July 15, 2010 ROYAL BANK of Scotland (RBS) is set to receive a $100m (£64m) payout from Goldman Sachs as part of the US bank’s settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over fraud allegations. The UK bank, which is led by chief executive Stephen Hester, is thought to have been the largest victim of the alleged [...]
Q&A: THE GOLDMAN SETTLEMENT July 15, 2010 Q.WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR OTHER BANKS? A.For any bank that already has a pending SEC investigation, it could open the door to more settlements. However, there is some speculation that it could also pave the way for further SEC investigations and action by US federal prosecutors. Q.WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR GOLDMAN TRADER FABRICE [...]
BP stops Gulf oil spill after tests on cap July 15, 2010 CRUCIAL tests on the Macondo well cap have succeeded in stopping the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in three months. It is the first time the flow has stopped since an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig on 20 April. US President Barack Obama said the development was [...]
JP Morgan triumphs as lower loan losses help profits surge July 15, 2010 JP MORGAN got the US bank second quarter reporting season off to a solid start yesterday, as a boost from falling impairment charges made up for a torrid period for its investment bank. The bank booked net profit of $4.8bn (£3.1bn), 78 per cent higher than the $2.7bn it made in the second quarter last [...]