US banks fined $80m for 'laddering'

[kuozzman]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1398528,00.html

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have agreed to pay a combined $80m (£43m) to settle allegations that they manipulated markets to ensure big first day gains in flotations during the stock market boom.

The Wall Street banks were accused of guaranteeing clients bigger allocations in initial public offerings if they agreed to buy more of the shares when they started trading. The scheme is known on Wall Street as "laddering".

Each of the banks paid $40m. They neither admit nor deny wrongdoing.

Stephen Cutler, enforcement director for the US securities and exchange commission, said: "These cases underscore the commission's resolve to ensure the integrity of IPO markets by prohibiting conduct that could artificially stimulate demand or higher prices in the after-market."

[brainshrub]

1. And the Republicans want to trust these people with your Social Security?

[kuozzman]

2. My thoughts exactly. And just 2 weeks ago, NYSE fined MS a record

$19Million.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=7307846

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Stock Exchange said on Wednesday it imposed a record $19 million fine on investment bank Morgan Stanley(MWD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , finalizing an agreement reached in principle with the company last year for regulatory and supervisory lapses.

The settlement was first disclosed in September 2004 when Morgan Stanley released its third-quarter earnings. However, the Big Board said that Wednesday's release was the first time it had made public the full details of the cases for which Morgan Stanley was sanctioned.

[DulceDecorum]

4. They lost $61 million

The fine included $13 million related to findings of "numerous supervisory, operational and technological deficiencies" in some of Morgan Stanley's operations and $6 million for failing to properly supervise an employee and a broker who misappropriated about $61 million of investors' funds, the exchange said.
<snip>
In a separate instance, the Big Board found that Morgan Stanley had failed to properly supervise an unnamed operations employee and another one named Carlos Soto, a registered broker.
Over a 13-year period, the firm failed to "prevent and detect" Soto's criminal activity, according to the NYSE. All told, the two individuals embezzled a total of $61 million of investors' funds
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=7307846

And they had 13 whole years to figure out what was going on.
No wonder they have run out of cash
and are trying to seperate Granny from her mattress.

[DulceDecorum]

3. Those gamblers need a stake

and granny ain't doing anythin exciting with that cash.