On Friday, the Second Circuit (Livingston, Carney, Sullivan) reinstated the conviction of a former Nomura Securities International, Inc. (“Nomura”) bond trader, Michael Gramins, in United States v. Gramins, No. 18-2007-cr,...more
Individual responsibility and accountability became a critical issue in the wake of the great financial crisis. From Capitol Hill to the cross-streets of small-town America it frequently seemed that the question of the day...more
Markets are joining the American mid-Atlantic and East Coast in bracing for Hurricane Florence and the estimated $27 billion in damages it could bring with it....more
Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson announced on Monday that it will shift some of its motorcycle production overseas “to avoid retaliatory tariffs imposed by the European Union” in response to the White House’s trade moves....more
U.S. Financial Industry Developments - Credit Agreements Will Require Important Updates If a Proposed New Delaware Law Is Passed - The Delaware legislature is currently contemplating an amendment to the Delaware Limited...more
On June 12, 2018, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC“) issued an Order instituting administrative proceedings, making findings, and imposing remedial sanctions against Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner &...more
Commerce Department data released yesterday showed strong across-the-board consumer spending in April, a nominally good sign but one that pushed bond yields higher and sent most equities lower for the day, snapping an 8-day...more
Meet ZTE (well, meet them again. We’ve discussed them before), the massive Chinese electronics maker banned last month by the White House from using US-made components that could well be the “first casualty of the high-tech...more
On May 3, 2018, a three-judge panel on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals (“Second Circuit”) vacated former bond trader Jesse Litvak’s conviction on one count of securities fraud, holding that the district court erred in...more
Ten years after the financial crisis, mortgage companies and regional/local banks are still getting hit with new breach of contract and indemnification claims related to loans sold before the crisis....more
The Journal dropped something of a bomb on Friday with news that Goldman Sachs’ CEO Lloyd Blankfein is heading out the door as soon as the end of the year. If true, Goldman will likely look for his replacement within its...more
More on the Saudi crackdown initiated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the weekend, including the government’s move to confiscate and freeze more than $800 billion in assets from the detailed princes and other...more
Old-school retailer Lord & Taylor has reached a deal with WeWork to sell its landmark New York flagship store for $850 million. L&T will continue on with a greatly decreased department store footprint in the space, but the...more
Goldman’s deal-making advising is sputtering a bit these days, so Lloyd and the gang are working on generating some of those deals themselves through a new Innovations Lab internal venture....more
On Thursday, June 15, 2017, a Connecticut federal jury delivered a mostly defendant-friendly verdict in the criminal trial of three residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) traders charged with conspiracy, securities...more
A typical collateralized debt financing involves a variety of service providers that owe fiduciary duties to investors. In a recent decision handed down in New York State Supreme Court, Commonwealth Advisors, Inc. v. Wells...more
As litigation stemming from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis continues, the legal framework governing the liability of participants in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) securitizations continues to develop....more
An EU high court opinion yesterday about a trade deal with Singapore could throw yet another stumbling block in the way of Britain’s exit of the union. Read on for more on the intricacies of the EU division of competencies....more
On March 3, 2017, the First Department of the Appellate Division of New York Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s ruling and ordered summary judgment to be entered in favor of the defendant, TCW Asset Management Company...more
Turns out the Fed’s plate isn’t just full of decisions surrounding interest rates. It’s got a massive portfolio of mortgage and Treasury securities that needs some serious tending, too....more
Deutsche Bank and the DOJ have put the finishing touches on the deal to resolve the investigation into DB’s role in its sale of toxic RMBS. The bank will fork over $7.2 billion in total, including a $3.1 billion civil penalty...more
Disgraced Wall Street scion Andrew Casperson has pleaded guilty to federal wire and security fraud charges related to his Ponzi-like scheme in which he bilked nearly $40 million from friends and a private foundation....more
Council of EU Adopts Regulation Extending Exemptions for Commodity Dealers under CRR - On May 30, 2016, the Council of the EU published a press release confirming that it has adopted a Regulation amending the Capital...more
The SEC has opened an inquiry into Alibaba’s accounting related to affiliated companies and related-party transactions, a big deal for a company “long seen as a symbol of China’s growing technological might”...more
On December 8, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled in Flannery v. SEC that the Securities and Exchange Commission lacked substantial evidence in finding securities law violations by two executives in...more