Financial Industry | featured news

Citigroup Inc posted $2.32 billion of charges for layoffs and lawsuits in its first financial report under new Chief Executive Michael Corbat, who said the bank needs to do better for shareholders.

Insurer AIG says it will not join a $25bn (£16bn) lawsuit against the US government, which alleges that the terms of its rescue deal were unfair.

Ten major banks and mortgage companies agreed Monday to pay $8.5 billion to settle federal complaints that they wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners who should have been allowed to stay in their homes.

Bank of America agreed on Monday to pay more than $10 billion to Fannie Mae to settle claims over troubled mortgages that soured during the housing crash, mostly loans issued by the bank's Countrywide Financial subsidiary.

David Sokol has harsh words for his former mentor, saying "I will never understand why Mr. Buffett chose to hurt my family in such a way."

Next year, $1.5 trillion of bank deposits will lose an unlimited government guarantee granted during the financial crisis, and boutique firms are offering new shelters for the cash.

Financial markets would be affected adversely if U.S. lawmakers fail to agree on a "fiscal cliff" deal before Tuesday, President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast on Sunday, while urging Congress to act quickly to extend tax cuts for middle-class Americans.

UBS on Wednesday became the first big global bank in more than two decades to have a subsidiary plead guilty to fraud. UBS, the Swiss bank, scrambled until the last minute to avoid that fate. A week ago, in a bid for leniency over interest-rate manipulation, the bank’s chairman traveled to Washington to plead his case to the Justice Department, according to people briefed on the matter. Knowing the long odds, the chairman, Axel Weber, asked the criminal division for a lighter punishment.

Massachusetts' securities regulator fined Morgan Stanley $5 million over its handling of Facebook's IPO, saying investment bankers had "improper influence" over the research analysts covering Facebook.

The Swiss financial giant UBS is close to finalizing a settlement with authorities over the manipulation of interest rates, a deal that is expected to include at least $1 billion in fines.