Last year the $25 billion National Mortgage Settlement meant to end mortgage servicing abuses was announced by federal and state officials; however, there is mounting evidence that not all the involved banks are living up to their commitment. The five banks involved with the settlement are Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Ally Financial Inc. In a recent letter, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman claims that Bank of America and Wells Fargo are violating the terms of the settlement. Schneiderman states that the two banks have committed a combined 339 violations of servicing standards, including deliberate delays by Wells Fargo and Bank of America to reviewing loan modification applications, a practice reminiscent of the “same misconduct that precipitated the National Mortgage Settlement.” Schneiderman has plans to sue both banks for failing to uphold their obligations under the settlement. However, in a letter to Schneiderman, Bank of America responded that they cannot be sued since they have not been given ample time to remedy their alleged violations. Both Bank of America and Wells Fargo say they remain committed to the terms of the settlement and deny that they have committed violations.
According to a recent story published by Corporate Crime Reporter, the proxy advisory services firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) was fined by the SEC for failing to prevent one of its employees from distributing confidential material. In exchange for information revealing how more than 100 ISS institutional shareholder advisory clients were voting their proxy ballots, the employee, who no longer works at ISS, received expensive tickets to concerts and sporting events, meals, and an airline ticket. The SEC investigation revealed that ISS lacked sufficient controls over access to confidential client vote information, allowing for the employee to gather the data. As a result of the failure of ISS to protect its confidential information, the SEC has required ISS to pay a $300,000 penalty and allow for an independent compliance consultant to review its procedures and ensure they comply with the Investment Advisers Act’s requirements for treatment of confidential information.