The Good

• Potential good. Carl Levin’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will be holding a hearing at 9:30 am today titled “J.P. Morgan Chase “Whale” Trades: A Case History of Derivatives Risks and Abuse.” We can only hope he brings the fire again (like his famous “shitty deal” grill of Dan Sparks) and highlight the banks’ continued excesses and criminality to the public. Matt Taibbi will be live-blogging too. Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone March 14, 2013

The Bad

• Through a FOIA request, the LA Times learns that the FDIC has been covering up for banks by not publishing the fact they engaged in really bad behavior through a “no press release” clause in their settlements. E. Scott Reckard at The Los Angeles Times March 11, 2013
• Jim Himes, former Goldman executive and now financial chair of the DCCC, introduces a bill to weaken Dodd-Frank, specifically the Prohibition Against federal Government Bailouts of Swaps Entities, which bars federal assistance from being provided to any swaps entity. Chelsea Kiene at the Huffington Post March 8, 2013

The Ugly

• Mary Jo White sails through the confirmation hearing as nearly all congressmen (except Sherrod Brown) throw her softballs, not to mention a particularly slobbering introduction from Charles Schumer about her love of motorcycles. Pam Martens at Wall Street on Parade March 14, 2013

OSEC news: We submitted a comment letter to the Financial Stability Oversight Council in response to the Council’s proposed regulations to Money Market Funds. Here’s a blog post on it. Here’s the actual letter.

The Good

• Italy follows France in implementing a transaction tax designed to hit high-frequency traders. Phillip Stafford at Financial Times February 19, 2013
• Even better, the EU is considering how to create a harmonized financial transactions tax. Floyd Norris at The New York Times February 21, 2013

The Bad

• On her disclosure form, Mary Jo White neglected to list three of her prior clients. Just another “ethical landmine,” in Jonathan Weill’s words. Bloomberg February 15, 2013

The Ugly

• Another DOJ smokescreen as they pretend to go after Wall Street by extracting guilty pleas from foreign subsidiaries. Yves Smith asks “I’m not sure who the audience for this play-acting is supposed to be.” The DOJ seems to think there is one, showing how disconnected they really are. Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone and Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism February 19, 2013
• POGO’s in-depth report details just how captured the SEC is by the institutions it is meant to regulate. Bill Moyers and Michael Winship at Moyers and Co. February 15, 2013

The Good

• At her first Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs Committee hearing, Senator Elizabeth Warren asks the regulators “When was the last time you took a Wall Street bank to trial?” In response, the regulators offer bumbling excuses. We can only hope this embarrassment produces some indictments. Ryan Grim at Huff Post February 14, 2013

The Bad

• Eight more states join a lawsuit challenging Title II of Dodd-Frank, giving the treasury “Orderly Liquidation Authority” over banks. Armoreite February 14, 2013
• Dave Dayen on how “the mortgage standards launched by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will fall short of what is necessary” Naked Capitalism February 12, 2013
• Republicans are determined to gut the CFPB in any way possible from blocking the nomination of Richard Cordray to demanding the director be replaced with a commission. Carter Dougherty at Bloomberg Businessweek February 13, 2013

The Ugly

• To stay with the broader theme of Occupy. Research by Emmanuel Saez, renowned income inequality expert, shows that 121% of income gains from 2009 to 2011 went to the top 1% of the population. As for the 99%, they saw a 0.4% decrease, showing that income inequality has only gotten worse under Obama. Bonnie Kavousi at Huff Post February 12, 2013

The Good

• The Department of Justice files a $5 billion suit against ratings agency S&P for misrepresentation of risks in MBS they rated. Aruna Viswanatha and Lauren Tara LaCapra at Reuters
  February 5, 2013
• Yves Smith describes Judge Jed Rakoff’s ruling in a rep and warranty case, in which bond insurer Assured got nearly everything it wanted from the mortgage originator Flagstar as “a game-changer” and a huge blow to Bank of America and JPMorgan. Naked Capitalism
  February 6, 2013
• Elizabeth Warren and Elijah Cummings begin an investigation into the recent OCC/FED settlement with mortgage servicers that ended the Independent Foreclosure Review process. Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism
  February 4, 2013

The Bad

• A 2006 SEC law which “discourages entry and discourages new ideas and new ways of doing things” will undermine the DOJ lawsuit against S&P, which accuses them of deliberately misrepresenting bonds to get Wall Street business. Matt Robinson at Bloomberg
  February 6, 2013
• Timothy Geithner has been named a “distinguished fellow” at Robert Rubin’s Council on Foreign Relations. The paycheck might not come directly from Wall Street, but it’ll get there nonetheless. Pam Martens at Wall Street On Parade
  February 7, 2013

The Ugly

• Final installment of Yves Smith’s invaluable original research on the extensive borrower harm and orchestrated cover-up in the Bank of America foreclosure settlement. Naked Capitalism
  February 7, 2013

The Good

• Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is finally leaving government. Finally. But not with out telling a few lies to the Wall St Journal. Nathan Tankus at Naked Capitalism
  January 29, 2013

The Bad

• Mary Jo White’s deposition in the SEC Inspector General’s investigation of the John Mack case  gives us dispiriting insight into how she may approach her work as SEC chair. She believes that the government should bring cases – but only “to a point.” Taibbi also reveals “legal leprechaun tricks” that White performed as a white-collar defense attorney at Debevoise & Plimpton. Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone
  January 30, 2013

The Ugly

• Continuation of Yves Smith’s invaluable original research on the extensive borrower harm and orchestrated cover-up in the Bank of America foreclosure settlement. Part IIIA, Part IIIB, and Part IV over at Naked Capitalism.

The Good

• Lanny Breuer abruptly resigns as head of DOJ Criminal Division after damaging Frontline report by Martin Smith. Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism
  January 23, 2013
• IMF Chief Christine Lagarde talks about income inequality and the necessity of cutting bankers pay at Davos. Ben Chu at the Independant
  January 24, 2013

The Bad

• Dodd-Frank reminder: The GAO reports that fewer than 50% of the new rules called for by Dodd-Frank had been finished by regulators by the end of 2012. Reuters
  January 23, 2013

• John Vickers, chairman of Britain’s Independent Commission on Banking, says U.K. banks shouldn’t be restricted from proprietary trading in a way similar to the U.S.’s so- called Volcker rule because it would be too complicated to police. Howard Mustoe at Bloomberg
  January 16, 2013

The Ugly

• Yves Smith contributes some invaluable original research on the extensive borrower harm and orchestrated cover-up in the Bank of America foreclosure settlement. Part One and Two from Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism
  January 24, 2013

The Good

• Robert Khuzami may become damaged goods for his time at the SEC. Not very likely but we hope so. Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism
  January 17, 2013

The Bad

• Goldman’s salaries raise $30,000 a head in 2012. For doing what exactly? Jill Treanor at The Guardian
  January 16, 2013

• New ruling on mortgage putbacks is potential big win for the banks as it “significantly increases the the cost of asserting breach-of-contract claims” Alison Frankel at Reuters
  January 17, 2013

The Ugly

• It’s revealed the the Independent Foreclosure Review was basically “doomed from the beginning” in Sheila Bair’s words. “It was designated the generate fees for consultants not to help homeowners.” The OCC and FED ignore calls for review and the ugly blame game begins. Ben Hallman and Eleazar David Menendez at the Huffington Post
  January 17, 2013

• Is there now a three tiered justice system. One for Jamie Dimon who gets no charges and no fines for violating the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Compliance. Another for HSBC, who violated the same act and got a paltry fine. And far below that Karen Gasparian, manager of G&A check cashing company, who gets 5 years. Again DOJ using the law to beat up the little guys. Marcy Wheeler at Empty Wheel
  January 15, 2013

The Good

• Michigan Supreme Court Rules that 3.75 Billion in JP Morgan mortgages are voidable. Steve Dilbert at MFI-Miami 12-30-12

The Bad

• AIG announces a PR campaign to “thank” the taxpayer for their most generous bailout. DS Wright at FDL 1-1-2013
• The only thing keeping this from being Ugly is that it’s speculation. William Cohan reports that Geithner may be a possible nominee to replace Bernanke when his term as Fed Chair ends. Bloomberg 12/24/12

The Ugly

• Very Ugly. The S.E.C. opens the floodgates for bank commodity trading. Lina Khan at The New Republic 12-31-2012
• The currently 509-page Basel III is becoming so complicated and requires such complex supervision that it actually might undermine financial safety rather than prevent future financial crises. Yalman Onaran at Bloomberg 2-2-2013
• Of the many corporate subsidies from Nascar to Disney, the one for Goldman’s headquarters seems to reek the worst. Matt Stoller at Naked Capitalism 1-2-2013