Banking/Financial Institutions

The 2012 federal district court ruling essentially invalidates proposed federal regulations limiting speculation on 28 commodities, including gasoline.

Former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine has been sued by the trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of the financial firm he once ran, MF Global.

In a suit filed in New York bankruptcy court Tuesday, trustee Louis Freeh claims that Corzine and senior executives at the firm were "grossly negligent" in their actions before the firm went bankrupt in 2011 — the eighth largest in U.S. history. Senior executives Bradley Abelow and Henri Steenkamp were also sued in the suit, according to Bloomberg.

The former Democratic governor and senator took the reins at MF Global following his failed bid at gubernatorial reelection. Once a top executive at Goldman Sachs, Corzine lent a big name to the relatively small firm of MF Global.

But Freeh's claims that outsized stature ended up being a fatal flaw for the firm, as Corzine pushed to have the firm invest heavily in European sovereign debt in a bid to boost profits and transition its activities from a traditional brokerage to a full-fledged investment bank.

Fed has yet to write rules guiding how to make emergency loans. 

Goldman Sachs lowers its deficit projections to $775 billion.

Outsourcing companies in India could be losers in immigration bill.

Big banks are rolling back bonuses.

Supreme Court considers whether foreign aid can be contingent on political views.

GOP chairman says Cordray's recess appointment means his position is legally invalid.

Citi has added a former top official with the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to its government affairs team.

Kimberley Claman, who previously served as deputy assistant USTR for financial services, has joined the bank as a senior vice president for its international government affairs team.

According to an internal posting from Citi, Claman's new role will have her representing the bank's interests in its dealings with officials from U.S. and foreign governments, and "support Citi executives and colleagues interacting and building relationships with key government partners and officials."

"As you can see, Kimberley’s unique depth of knowledge and expertise in working with governments and the private sector on global financial issues will provide Citi and its customers with an important perspective on key trade and international affairs issues," wrote Candi Wolff, Citi's head of global government affairs.

Fresh data on U.S. economic growth comes this week as both the House and Senate attend to a full slate of economic events.

On Friday, the Commerce Department will provide its first estimate of economic growth in the first quarter of 2013. The advance estimate will come after the government reported the nation’s gross domestic product grew just 0.4 percent in the last three months of 2012, as businesses braced for the “fiscal cliff.”

Meanwhile, both the House and Senate are in session with a number of high-profile hearings on tap.

More than a dozen business groups called on the Senate to act quickly on the nomination of Fred Hochberg to continue leading the Export-Import Bank. 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, along with a diverse group of 12 businesses, sent a letter to Democratic and Republican leaders on the Senate Banking Committee calling on a swift action for Hochberg to head the bank for four more years, which they argue helps U.S. businesses remain globally competitive. 

So far, the panel has not announced a hearing to hear from Hochberg, who is being opposed by the conservative Club for Growth. 

The group has said it will key-vote the nomination, saying he should be opposed "until a real plan is implemented for reducing the Bank's authority with the ultimate goal of ending its charter completely."

Wall Street busy recreating risky investments thought to be dead. Read more...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is pushing to bolster what it takes for a financial adviser to be able to market their skills specifically to seniors.

The watchdog released a new report Wednesday that called on fellow regulators and Congress to take steps to make it harder for phony advisers to take advantage of older Americans, by making it easier for individuals to determine the qualifications of potential advisers.

"With such a bewildering array of titles and acronyms, it is no wonder that older Americans are confused and misled by these titles,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Today’s report underscores the need for consistent high-level standards of training and conduct for those advisers who want to acquire a bona fide senior designation.”

A check-cashing problem has been corrected for homeowners who are being reimbursed by banks for shoddy foreclosure practices.

A batch of the first checks set out last week were initially rejected by banks that said they could not be cashed, the Federal Reserve reported on Wednesday. 

"Some early recipients of checks informed the Federal Reserve's consumer helpline on Tuesday that they were told their checks could not be cashed," the Fed said. 

Fed staff then contacted Rust Consulting and The Huntington National Bank to ensure there were funds in place to pay about 4.2 million borrowers nearly $3.6 billion.