December 23, 2009 at 10:37 am
Insurance giant AIG, bailed out by taxpayers to the tune of $180 billion, had promised to return $45 million of the $165 million in bonuses it paid despite the bailout. But most of that remains unpaid, the Washington Post reports. Former Federal Reserve Bank examiner Mark T. Williams, who teaches finance at BU’s School of […]
December 17, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Bank of American has tapped Wellesley attorney Brian Moynihan as its new CEO, promoting him up from head of the bank’s consumer and small-business operations. Former Federal Reserve Bank examiner Mark T. Williams, who teaches finance in the BU School of Management, says BofA needs a risk-management veteran, not a lawyer, at its helm. “In […]
December 16, 2009 at 3:54 pm
On the one hand Citigroup is repaying Uncle Sam that TARP bailout money, which is good for taxpayers. On the other hand, they’re getting a multi-billion dollar tax break in the process. Economics Professor Laurence Kotlikoff, a former senior economist in the White House Council of Economic Advisors, doesn’t like the tax breaks built into […]
December 11, 2009 at 4:25 pm
The Securities and Exchange Commission is widening its probe of the Bank of American take-over Merrill Lynch to go beyond failing to disclose bonuses paid to Merrill employees to now include failure to disclose ML’s mounting losses. Law Professor Elizabeth Nowicki, a former SEC and Wall Street attorney, says it’s about time. The SEC’s expanding probe of Bank […]
December 11, 2009 at 3:15 pm
England has been joined by France in slapping a supertax on bank bonuses in an effort to push other countries, including the U.S., do so likewise. Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law and former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors, says it’s disgaceful the United States didn’t […]
December 7, 2009 at 6:13 pm
With Washington’s “pay czar” setting limits for executives of bailed out Wall Street firms, five high-ranking execs at AIG reportedly are ready to quit if their compensation is cut significantly. Law Professor Tamar Frankel, an authority on securities law and legal ethics, says maybe its time to both change the guard and change the mores […]
October 30, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is still trying to convince Congress to pass legislation to deal with “too big to fail” financial institutions before they get to the point of collapse. Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law and a former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors, says […]
October 23, 2009 at 2:40 pm
In an effort to avoid unnecessary risk taking in the financial services industry, the Federal Reserve has issued guidelines regulating bankers’ pay. Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law and a former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors, says it’s a welcome step but not enough. What is […]
October 5, 2009 at 3:38 pm
A report from the inspector general overseeing the government’s bailout of the banking system says the Treasury Department was less than candid last fall about the health of the bailed-out banks. Visiting law Professor Elizabeth Nowicki, a former SEC attorney and Wall Street lawyer, says such lack of transparancy is what caused a run on […]
With 10 large banks repaying the public billions in bailout money, it divorces the government from running the banks. But Treasury still owns stock warrants in those banks, which could become valuable over time. School of Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law, thinks the warrants should be […]