Posts belonging to Category CDOs



Bloomberg Article Lambasts the SEC

 

Former investment banker and financial writer William Cohan has written a blistering critique of the SEC’s settlement with former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, essentially accusing the SEC of abject surrender to the forces of evil and begging the judge to reject the settlement: “We are all worse off for […]

Student Loan Worries Grow

 

Student loan debt problems are lurking on the horizon. Americans owe $1 trillion on college student loans, more than they owe on credit cards, which is too much. 2010 graduates owed $25,250 on average (up 5 percent from 2009). Parents of 2010 graduates owed $34,000 on average. More parents are going into debt to pay […]

Why is Trust in Wall Street Banks Declining?

 

As Wall Street continues to question why its business is declining, a recent Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration case provides part of the answer. The arbitration panel ordered Bank of America Merrill Lynch (Merrill Lynch) to pay $1.38 million to an investor who lost money in a complex structured product composed of pooled loans […]

Securities Regulator Alerts the Public About Dangerous Investments and Investment Strategies

 

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently issued a report outlining is its regulatory and examination priorities for 2012. The securities industry regulator is focusing on conduct and products meant to beat the market that are unsuitable investments for many investors.

Credit Suisse Traders Face Criminal Charges for Mortgage Investment Fraud

 

Federal prosecutors plan to file criminal actions against four former traders who allegedly overvalued collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) sold by Credit Suisse in order to increase their commissions. The events occurred in 2008 and resulted in a $2.85 billion write down by Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse fired the traders and cooperated with authorities in their […]

Most Financial Advisers Don’t Understand Alternative Investments According To John Hancock Survey

 

Given the array of exotic alternative investments being sold to the public, it’s logical that many investors often don’t understand what they are buying. What is even scarier is that it is likely their professional investment adviser doesn’t understand the alternative investment either. Investment advisers ? 75 percent of them ? admit they do not […]

How Citigroup Met its Disclosure Obligations: a ‘Brain-Scrambling, Obfuscating Collection of Words’

 

After federal district court judge Jed Rakoff “forcefully rejected” a $285 million settlement between the SEC and Citigroup, Susan Beck bravely decided to read the prospectus for the Class V Funding III CDO at the center of the controversy, in order to see the disclosures that Citigroup says are adequate. What she found was a […]

Judge Rejects Citi’s Efforts to Buy Justice

 

Judge Jed S. Rakoff stunned the SEC and Citigroup by rejecting their proposed $285 million settlement of a case involving Citigroup’s sale to investors of a CDO that Citigroup allegedly “built to fail” and bet against. The judge’s decision made a dent in the SEC’s longstanding policy (“hallowed by history, but not by reason”) of […]

Expert Contends that Brokerage Firms are Failing to Satisfy their Due Diligence Obligations.

 

Broker-dealers that sold billions of dollars in fraudulent private placements, such as Medical Capital and Provident Royalties notes, “failed massively in their due diligence responsibilities to investors” according to Gordon Yale, a CPA and expert witness in securities fraud cases. (See “Private-placement due diligence ‘sloppy,’” Investment News). They grossly misrepresented investigations into the investments and […]

Morgan Stanley Bitten by ‘Built to Fail’ Structured Products

 

Morgan Stanley’s motion to dismiss a class action involving “built to fail” structured products has been denied as to the fraud claims against it, and the case will go forward. The plaintiffs ? a group of Singapore retail investors ? allege that Morgan Stanley committed fraud in selling them sold them $154.7 million of Pinnacle […]