Lloyds Banking Said to Probe Two Traders Over Libor-Rigging

Lloyds Banking Said to Probe Two Traders Over Libor-Rigging

Lloyds Banking Group Plc, the second-largest U.K. government owned lender, is probing two money-markets traders over their alleged role in the rigging of interest rates, three people familiar with the matter said.

Andrew Reed, who inputted the firm’s submissions to the yen London interbank offered rate, was put on leave in June over allegations he held improper discussions about the benchmark, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the investigation isn’t yet complete. The firm is also probing communications by Andrew Doe, a yen cash-trader and rate setter who left the bank in the middle of 2009, the people said.

“As with many others in the sector, the group is assisting various regulators in their ongoing investigations into the setting of Libor,” Lloyds said in a statement. “Until these investigations are completed, it would be inappropriate for us to comment any further.” Both Reed and Doe weren’t contactable through directory assistance and internet searches.

The two traders are the current focus of regulators’ probes into Lloyds’s involvement in attempts to manipulate the benchmark for more than $300 trillion of securities worldwide, one of the people said. The London-based lender is unlikely to reach a settlement with regulators this year, one of the people said. So far, the probe has uncovered no evidence that senior managers were involved, the people said.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/business/bloomberg/article/Lloyds-Banking-Said-to-Probe-Two-Traders-Over-4427184.php#ixzz2QDmUkTth

Senior R.B.S. Executive in Japan Expected to Resign in Libor Scandal

Senior R.B.S. Executive in Japan Expected to Resign in Libor Scandal

LONDON – A senior executive at the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Japanese investment banking unit is expected to resign in the wake of a rate-rigging scandal, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Ryusuke Otani, chief executive of RBS Securities Japan, will probably step down by the end of the week, added the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

The resignation of Mr. Otani, a former Citigroup banker, follows moves by Japanese authorities to punish Royal Bank of Scotland over its role in the manipulation of theLondon interbank offered rate, or Libor.

Florida’s $1 billion homeowner help program faces federal audit

Florida’s $1 billion homeowner help program faces federal audit

Florida’s key foreclosure prevention program is facing a federal investigation after Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) raised concerns about who is receiving the money and how little of the $1 billion award has reached homeowners.

The special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program confirmed in a letter Thursday that she shares Nelson’s “desire to bring more transparency to the program” and will initiate an audit.

Dubbed the Hardest Hit Program, the plan has been notoriously slow in giving out awards to needy homeowners and has been criticized in past federal reviews for having so few homeowners receiving money.

The most recent numbers as of March 1 show $230 million, or 23 percent of the total allocation, had been spent or encumbered.

“I would ask that your office look thoroughly into Florida’s management of the homeowner-help program as part of the current broader audit of the entire multi-state program,” Nelson wrote.

[VIDEO] Senator Warren Slams Regulators on Botched Foreclosure Reviews

DEFENDANTS IN MERS RECORDING FEE CASE FILE BRIEF SUPPORTING MOTION TO DISMISS

A suit filed last year by the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s office against banks and MortgageElectronic Recording System (MERS) over a “shadow” mortgage recording system should be dismissed with prejudice, the defendants say.

State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly sued last May alleging the defendants’  recording system effectively eliminates the ability to track the purchase and sale of properties through the traditional public records system.

A joint motion to dismiss was filed Feb. 15 by MERS, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, CCO Mortgage Corporation, EverHome Mortgage Company, Regions Bank, First Collinsville Bank, FirstCo Mortgage Corporation, First County Bank, Commerce Bank, UMB Bank, Midland States Bank, Citi Mortgage,Suntrust Mortgage, MERSCORP, Inc., HSBC Finance, Bank of O’Fallon, SunTrust Mortgage, Mid AmericaMortgage Services of Illinois, Peoples National Bank and Mortgage Services.

A reply brief supporting the motion to dismiss was filed April 8, saying the Illinois Supreme Court more than a century ago rejected a plaintiff theory that Illinois law contains a mandatory duty to record mortgage assignments.

Rest here…

Sen. Warren spars with regulators over foreclosure review settlement

Sen. Warren spars with regulators over foreclosure review settlement

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren sparred with prudential regulators on Capitol Hill, suggesting the recent $9.3 billion independent foreclosure review settlement between regulators and mortgage servicers failed to account for how many illegal foreclosures potentially impacted American borrowers.  

Warren grilled Richard Ashton, deputy general counsel for theFederal Reserve Board of Governors, and Daniel Stipano, deputy chief counsel with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on the use of independent contractors in the foreclosure review process.

Both regulatory agencies said the decision to shut down the massive independent foreclosure review process came after regulators realized the complexity of the mission. They decided instead on a deal to settle with borrowers in a timely and streamlined fashion.

“In retrospect, it is clear that our approach under the IFR process did not serve the agency’s objectives which were, first and foremost, to compensate borrowers in a timely manner for the financial harm they suffered from faulty foreclosure practices,” said Stipano in prepared remarks.

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