Friday, July 26, 2013

This Week in Bank Failures

SAC Capital has pleaded not guilty after being charged with a pervasive and continuing pattern of insider trading. Prosecutors will seek forfeiture of the hedge fund manager’s ill-gotten gains. The indictment did not specify the amount of money involved, but it is easy to imagine that it could be most of the assets of the company and its owner.

UBS has agreed to pay a fine close to $1 billion to settle securities charges in connection with its involvement in mortgage-backed securities. The bank had assured buyers the securities were safe investments. At least ten other megabanks are thought to be facing similar fines.

Five Europeans have been indicted for stealing card numbers and identifying information for 160 million U.S. credit and debit card accounts over a period of about 6 years.