Receiving Wide Coverage ...
JPM
Again: News outlet continue to closely monitor JPMorgan Chase ahead of Tuesday's shareholder vote on a proposal that could see Jamie Dimon stripped of his dual title as chairman and CEO. Dealbook reports the Council of Institutional Investors has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission "to intervene" after Broadridge, the firm that provides tabulations on these types of votes, stopped giving updates to the investors sponsoring the proposal, though the article gives no indication of whether the SEC is likely to do so. Another Dealbook column classifies the forthcoming vote as a test of stockholder power. Per the article, "a victory against a bank that prides itself on its 'fortress balance sheet' would go a long way toward proving that shareholders can push for changes even at strong companies." Meanwhile, the Financial Times has its own ode to the bank's executive, entitled "Jamie Dimon, the Last King of Wall Street," see here and here for prior versions though this rendition does end on a semi-somber note. "Maybe these are grey days," U.S. banking editor Tom Braithwaite writes. "The best hope for Mr. Dimon's large coterie of supporters is that this backdrop gives him something to prove for the first time since the crisis and that, whether he retains his chairmanship or not, all the hurdles and criticism might provoke another lease of life."
Subpoenas for SAC Execs: Steven Cohen, avid art lover, and other SAC Capital executives have been subpoenaed to testify in front of a grand jury concerning the government's investigation into insider trading at the hedge fund. Anonymous sources tell the Journal "U.S. prosecutors are considering possible criminal charges against SAC Capital" and Dealbook notes the subpoenas suggest "federal prosecutors and the FBI are intensifying their efforts to build a case, not only against SAC executives, but also the fund itself" as a grand jury will typically hear testimony "before deciding to approve an indictment." Both news outlets report Cohen is likely to invoke his fifth amendment privileges during questioning and, according to Dealbook, the firm told investors on Friday it was "no longer fully cooperating with the investigation." SAC Capital reached a $616 million civil settlement with the SEC in March over insider-trading allegations, though the firm did not admit or deny wrongdoing.
Wall Street Journal
Goldman Sachs is selling its entire stake in Industrial Commercial Bank of China for around $1.1 billion.
The New York Department of Financial Services has subpoenaed a few Wall Street investment firms with ties to insurers that back fixed annuities. The growing ties to Wall Street has the regulator "concerned
insurers are making potentially risky bets with some of the money needed to fulfill contracts that many customers depend on to supplement their Social Security checks and other retirement savings."
Financial Times
Here's a story that will sound a bit familiar. U.S. banks are making more commercial and industrial loans, sparking concerns "that intense competition to extend more business loans could spur banks to offer them at dangerously low rates and on far too loose terms, or lead inexperienced new entrants into the market."
New York Times
Morgan Stanley has agreed to sell its Indian wealth management unit to Standard Chartered "for an undisclosed amount."
Donald Workman had been named executive chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland's Asia unit. He succeeds John McCormick, whose departure "is the latest top-level change at the bank this year."
Washington Post
The paper's analysis of government data reveals banks have paid less than half the $5.7 billion owed to homeowners under the various mortgage settlements brokered by the government since 2008. "Critics point to the 2011 agreement the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Fed struck with more than a dozen mortgage servicers as a prime example of the dysfunction," the article notes.
