Wall Street Journal
If Ben Bernanke was miffed at his home refinance application being denied, he should be in a really bad mood after what's coming next. Bernanke, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and former New York Fed President Tim Geithner "each will field hours of questions" in the lawsuit filed by former AIG CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg challenging the terms of the 2008 bailout of AIG. Greenberg's lawsuit alleges the government cheated shareholders out of $40 billion and Greenberg's lawyers are expected to "drill" Messrs. Bernanke, Paulson and Geithner in an attempt to "get admissions of things that are revealing." For those keeping score at home, Geithner is expected to spend the longest time in the witness chair, as court filings estimate his questioning will last about 13 hours. Does he at least get a bathroom break?
A dozen investment banks are working together on to create a "one-stop destination for finding buyers and sellers of corporate bonds." The participants include JPMorgan Chase and HSBC. It's designed to counter the current market for bonds in which "new platforms seemingly emerge every few months."
Investors' lawsuits against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac don't stand much of a chance, dashing hopes that the GSEs' shares hold much value, John Carney writes for "Heard on the Street."
Financial Times
Here's what you had hoped would never come out of the mouth of a regulator, but you knew eventually would: "Should we be considering the cyber threat as something as fundamental to institutions as capital levels?" That's from New York state's top bank cop, Benjamin Lawsky, who will meet with the heads of banks to discuss cybersecurity issues in the wake of JPMorgan Chase's massive breach. Lawsky hopes to encourage banks to purchase cyber insurance policies, the FT said.
Banks with fixed-income trading operations (JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup, among others) should get a boost to third-quarter earnings, thanks to the upheaval at Pimco and Fed tapering. It would be a reversal after four-straight weak quarters.
New rules for money market funds will probably reduce the chance of runs on the funds during crises, but it's unclear if they will reduce the appeal of money markets versus bank deposits, Brookings Institution fellow Robert Pozen writes in an op-ed.
The head of Citigroup's Banamex unit, Javier Arrigunaga, has resigned amid a fraud scandal.
New York Times
Square has closed a $150 million venture capital investment, according to an unnamed source. It values Square at $6 billion.
