Law and legal issues

In a new lawsuit, a former BMO employee says he was fired because he reported his concern that the bank was intentionally charging too much to clients who used a foreign-exchange product. BMO denies the allegations.

As Silvergate Capital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, an executive said the company's crypto-friendly bank went down last year because regulators soured on its business model.

The Canadian bank said it expects to recover hundreds of millions of dollars after a three-judge appeals panel found that it cannot be held liable in connection with a multibillion-dollar fraud. The ruling echoed a different appeals court's decision stemming from the collapse of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

The law that created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stipulates that the agency must be funded by the central bank's earnings. But, the Fed has been losing money for two years. Therefore, its payments to the agency are not legal.

The American Bankers Association says a proposal to replace its own financial security identifier with one owned by Bloomberg exceeds the agencies' statutory authority and could disrupt financial markets.

Diane Offereins retired from a top job last year amid scrutiny of the card network's charges to merchants. Now she's suing Discover over its decision to cancel unvested stock worth $7 million.

Recent Supreme Court decisions reducing the ability of regulatory agencies to interpret the meaning of federal laws make it likely that supervisory decisions based on assessments of banks' safety and soundness will face court challenges.

The plaintiffs' 2nd Circuit filing in the Bank of America escrow preemption case is the first since the Supreme Court sent it back for more analysis.

The wealth management giants join their rivals Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, UBS, LPL Financial and Ameriprise in being accused of using uninvested cash in advisory accounts to boost their bottom lines rather than benefit clients.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is trying to limit the impact of a Supreme Court decision that curtailed federal agencies' use of administrative law judges.

A federal judge excoriated banks for inflating data in a challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's data collection on small-business loans.

Four companies are fighting CFPB enforcement actions by claiming the agency cannot be funded by the Federal Reserve, which has not been profitable since 2022. The consumer bureau calls the new legal theory "meritless."

Royal Bank of Canada's onetime chief financial officer was allegedly in a relationship with an executive in the bank's corporate treasury group for more than a decade. A court filing offers a remarkably detailed look at how the bank alleges it played out.

The American Bankers Association and the Illinois Bankers Association, among other groups, say a state law barring swipe fees for taxes and tips should be preempted by federal law.

Missouri Secretary of State John Ashcroft's office said the ruling was "not just legally deficient but also morally wrong."

A female employee is now suing ICAP and Citigroup, alleging she was subjected to years of unwanted sexual attention and threats by a Citi trader.

Researchers wonder if similar regulatory attention could eventually hit the bottom lines of independent broker-dealers and RIAs.

Judge Martin Glenn of the Federal Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York greenlighted SVB Financial's bankruptcy plan Monday, but $1.93 billion in FDIC-held deposits remain contested pending further litigation.

With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau joining the growing list of top enforcement agencies recognizing the value in whistleblowing, companies should take heed and avoid any provisions in employment and severance agreements that in any way impede or penalize whistleblowers.

The lender denied its software uses artificial intelligence in fighting a 'digital redlining' case.