Thursday, March 10, 2011

Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC) Getting Shaken Down Says Lawmaker

Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee, said Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and Ally Financial getting a "shakedown" in regard to being pressured to agree to a proposed settlement initiated by state attorneys general and federal regulators.

“The proposed settlement would fundamentally alter the regulation of our banks. Yet, this would be done without Congressional involvement. Instead, it would be done by executive fiat through intimidation and threats of regulatory sanctions,” Shelby said. “The administration and our financial regulators are clearly hoping the banks will consent to these new regulations.”

Per the settlement, banks could be fined up to $30 billion and then required to appoint third-party monitors to assess their conduct, said Shelby.

They would also have to move through a series of steps in order to proceed with a bankruptcy, which would slow the process down even further.

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