Setting the stage for future successful whistleblowing litigation, New York City qui tam attorneys, Adam Pollock and Steve Cohen, of newly-minted Pollock Cohen LLP, weighed in on Monday’s SEC record $83 million award to three Bank of America’s/ Merrill Lynch executives for holding up to $58 billion a day in a clearing account that should have been … [Read more...]
The GOP Strikes Down Financial Protection Rule
After the Equifax debacle and the Wells Fargo scandal, Republican Senators were still able to scrape by last week, voting to repeal the contentious arbitration rule, recently introduced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Vice President Mike Pence was brought to Capitol Hill to cast the tie-breaking vote, making for a 51-50 victory … [Read more...]
The Financial Choice Act Would Reduce Corporate Accountability
After it was discovered that Wells Fargo created 2 million unauthorized accounts to fill quotas, two of the executives responsible were made to return a fraction of their pay, totaling $60 million. Some thanks are owed to the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, without which John G. Stumpf and Carrie L. Tolstedt would not have been financially punished. Now … [Read more...]
Department of Education Reduces Protections and Streamlines Student-Loan Servicing
On Tuesday April 11th, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos nullified three memos from Obama’s Department of Education. These memos which were meant to improve customer protections for borrowers and simplify the student-loan servicing industry. The memos – which were authored by John B. King Jr., Obama’s Secretary of Education, and Ted Mitchell, … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Decision Limits Power of SEC
Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling that effectively limits the power of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to recover funds gained through fraudulent activity. Justice Sonia Sotomayor authored the opinion for the court, writing that the SEC must seek “disgorgement” – the process whereby illegally garnered … [Read more...]
House Republicans Vote to Repeal Key Reforms in Dodd-Frank
This past Thursday while everyone was watching the Comey hearing, the House of Representatives voted to rescind several post-2008 regulations that Republicans regard as too restrictive on financial institutions. This is the latest in a series of GOP-guided initiatives to roll back Obama-era rules. Trump said earlier in his presidency that he would … [Read more...]
Senator Sherrod Brown Proposes Legislation to Allow Wells Fargo Customers to Avoid Arbitration
On Monday, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown announced plans to introduce a bill that would allow customers of Wells Fargo & Co. to sue the company who are currently unable to do so because of contractual arbitration clauses. Arbitration laws allow companies to contractually prohibit customers and employees from suing them in court, instead … [Read more...]
