Word: rakoff
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...September, Judge Jed Rakoff said he would not accept a settlement that did not name specific executives. New York attorney general Cuomo is reportedly considering pursing his own charges against Lewis and other Bank of America executives on issues surrounding the Merrill acquisition. Pursuant to Rakoff's ruling, the SEC has gone ahead with its case against the bank in general but has yet to name individual executives in the suit. Cuomo recently subpoenaed a number of current and former Bank of America board members. He has not indicated whether he intends to bring charges...
...judge threw out a proposed $33 million settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bank of America stemming from the company's January takeover of Merrill Lynch. The SEC had sued the bank over $3.6 billion in undisclosed bonuses paid to Merrill staff before the deal. Judge Jed Rakoff accused bankers and regulators of having a "cynical relationship" that penalizes shareholders rather than bank executives...
...Judge Jed Rakoff, in striking down the settlement, said fining the company - and thus its shareholders - for a misdeed of management was misplaced. "This proposal to have the victims of the violation pay an additional penalty for their own victimization was enough to give the court pause," wrote Rakoff in his decision...
...judge has ordered the case to go to trial as soon as next February. The SEC could instead try to strike a new settlement that satisfies the judge, but based on Rakoff's ruling, law professor John Coffee, who teaches a class with Rakoff at Columbia, says it is unlikely the judge would accept a substitute settlement that doesn't name any individual executives. Lewis, as the chief executive of the bank, is an obvious target. The SEC has yet to say whether it plans to pursue charges against Lewis or any other executive at Bank of America...
...Whatever the penalty, though, if Lewis is found to have lied about facts surrounding the Merrill merger, it is likely that the board will be forced to let him go. "Judge Rakoff is saying that executives need to be held accountable for the decisions they made," says Corporate Library's Minow. "I think heads will roll for this...