Blowback for SEC from whistleblower
BLOWBACK FOR SEC FROM WHISTLEBLOWER: A whistleblower is calling foul on the SEC. Our Patrick Temple-West writes: “A whistleblower who said he is due an $8.25 million reward from the Securities and...
BLOWBACK FOR SEC FROM WHISTLEBLOWER: A whistleblower is calling foul on the SEC. Our Patrick Temple-West writes: “A whistleblower who said he is due an $8.25 million reward from the Securities and Exchange Commission said he is refusing the cash because of concerns that the agency failed to prosecute top executives at Deutsche Bank. … Ben-Artzi said he was fired after raising concerns with the way Deutsche was valuing its derivatives. In its settlement with Deutsche, the SEC alleged the company overvalued its derivatives holdings during the worst days of the 2008 financial crisis. … ‘Although I need the money now more than ever, I will not join the looting of the very people I was hired to protect,’” Ben-Artzi wrote in The Financial Times. A Deutsche Bank spokesman declined to comment.
Andrew Ceresney, the SEC's current enforcement director: “We brought all of the charges supported by the evidence and the law, which were unanimously approved by the Commission.”
TGIF! — Happy Friday. You’ve almost made it through the week without the incomparable Morning Money Ben. The Pro Financial Services team will be filling in again for him next week, so please send tips to Financial Services editor Mark McQuillan: mmcquillan@politico.com. Follow me on Twitter @vtg2.
THIS MORNING ON POLITICO PRO FINANCIAL SERVICES – Patrick Temple-West on CFTC charges of swaps-reporting violations against Deutsche Bank -- and to get Morning Money every day before 6 a.m. -- please contact Pro Services at (703) 341-4600 or info@politicopro.com.
FED UP GOING TO JACKSON — The Fed Up coalition will hold a series of events in Jackson, Wyo., next week, including an on-the-record meeting with Kansas City Fed President Esther George on Aug. 25, the coalition announced. Other Fed presidents and governors will also be attending the discussion. The docket includes a press conference and a demonstration, where members of the coalition (a marriage between unions and other community organizations) will “share their personal experiences seeking good-paying jobs in this economy and discuss the importance of diversity in Fed leadership for promoting high-quality governance and public policy.”
Don’t miss: Fed Up will also unveil a report outlining one of its central ideas: how to make the Fed a fully public institution. Its authors are Andrew Levin of Dartmouth and Valerie Wilson of the Economic Policy Institute.
Speaking of the Fed conference, three Democratic lawmakers on Thursday wrote to Fed Chair Janet Yellen, thanking her for the central bank’s focus on inequality and the impact of the economic recovery on neglected communities. “We are concerned, however, that some of your work may be undercut by the failure of all Federal Reserve entities to follow your lead,” they wrote, expressing worries that workers of color might have a harder time being heard at the Jackson Hole conference. Read the letter from Reps. John Conyers, Frederica Wilson and Marcy Kaptur here.
AIR FORCE ONE SCHEDULED FOR ASIA PIVOT — President Barack Obama is heading off to China early next month where he will participate in the G20 Leaders’ Summit, the White House announced Thursday. Obama will discuss the full gamut of international economic issues and hold “in-depth,” one-on-one meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou.
MM prediction: Foreign exchange rate policies, the U.S.-China bilateral investment treaty, cyber issues and treatment of U.S. businesses abroad are just some of the hot financial topics that might be broached in those bilateral meetings.
The stop in China will be followed by a trip to Laos for the U.S.-ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit. The full trip, which comes amid efforts by the president to push the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal despite political headwinds from both sides of the aisle, will run from Sept. 2-9.
TRUMP A MERCER-NARY — From WSJ's Rebecca Ballhaus: "Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s latest staff shakeup reflects the growing behind-the-scenes influence of a wealthy backer relatively new in the nominee’s orbit: billionaire hedge-fund manager Robert Mercer. … He and his daughter, Rebekah, had recommended both Breitbart News chairman Steve Bannon and Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway, who already worked for the campaign, according to people familiar with the matter. The Mercers met privately with Mr. Trump at a fundraiser last weekend at the East Hampton, N.Y., home of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, according to a person at the event. … Top Trump donors said the staff reshuffling showed the Mercers’ widening role in the campaign." The article is here.
END OF AN ERA — Citigroup will have no more dedicated proprietary traders once Anna Raytcheva leaves at the end of this month, the WSJ reports. Raytcheva and the rest of her kind have been rendered increasingly obsolete at Citi and other large banks because of the Volcker rule, which banned most types of trades made by banks on their own behalf. She will be opening her own hedge fund next year, the veteran trader told WSJ.
WSJ’s Christina Rexrode writes: “The firm’s trading roots go back to Salomon Brothers, whose 1980s trading exploits were featured in the book ‘Liar’s Poker.’ That firm was ultimately folded into Citigroup, whose billions of dollars in trading losses during the financial crisis prompted repeated taxpayer-led bailouts. … Citigroup and other large banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley had multiple desks dedicated to the lucrative but risky practice before the financial crisis. But … to comply with the [Volcker] rule, Citigroup sold or spun off businesses, including an emerging-markets hedge fund and a private-equity unit. It also closed down Citi Principal Strategies, its dedicated proprietary trading desk, in January 2012.” Check out the story here.
FANNIE AND FREDDIE ALL DRESSED UP WITH NOWHERE TO GO — Per Bloomberg’s Joe Light: “Earth-movers are laying the foundations of a shiny new headquarters for Fannie Mae, the bailed-out giant of American mortgages. But the sleek design, replete with glass sky bridges, belies a sober reality: Fannie Mae and its cousin, Freddie Mac, are once again headed for trouble. … On Jan. 1, 2018, the two government-sponsored enterprises will officially run out of capital under the current terms of their bailout. After that, any losses would be shouldered by taxpayers. Granted, few people are predicting a disaster like the one in 2008, when the GSEs had to be thrown a $187.5 billion federal lifeline. But eight years later, people still don’t agree on what to do with these wards of the state.” Click here to read more.
ITALIAN BANKERS FACING SCRUTINY — Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena is in the news once again, this time because its CEO Fabrizio Viola and former Chairman Alessandro Profumo are being investigated for alleged false accounting and market manipulation, Reuters reports. The investigation comes just a couple of weeks after MPS announced that, with the help of JPMorgan Chase and Mediobanca, it will repackage 27-billion-Euros-worth of bad debt into securities worth a total net amount of 9.2 billion Euros.
From Reuters’ Silvia Ognibene: “The investigation, which started in 2015 following complaints filed by small shareholders and consumer associations, comes as the Tuscan bank prepares to launch a 5 billion Euro ($6 billion) stock sale after emerging as the weakest bank in Europe in industry stress tests in July. A spokesman for Monte dei Paschi said the decision to investigate Viola and Profumo followed a proposal by two shareholders to seek damages from the two executives which was rejected by other shareholders at an April meeting. … Being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not automatically lead to charges being laid.” More here.
A CLOSER LOOK AT LENDING CLUB — Bloomberg’s Max Chafkin on shady loans facilitated by Lending Club: “[Bryan] Sims decided to take a look at the hundreds of loans he’d invested in, arranging them in a spreadsheet … Two loans caught his eye. Both had been issued to individuals with the same employer in the same small town. So far, so coincidental. But looking deeper, Sims found that the salaries were nearly identical. Both borrowers had opened their first line of credit in the same month. This, Sims realized, is the same dude. It wasn’t a borrower who’d paid off one loan and happily returned for a second. It was one person with two active loans, and Lending Club was treating them as completely unrelated, charging wildly different interest rates. The borrower was paying about 15 percent interest on one loan of about $15,000; on the other, he was paying 9 percent on twice the principal. That meant the investors who held only the second loan were leaving money on the table. And Lending Club didn’t seem to be doing anything to help them.” Read the rest here.
‘LIKE’ IT OR NOT, FED’S ON FACEBOOK — Rounding out its social media presence, the Fed Board of Governors launched a Facebook page on Thursday. The central bank is already on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and — who knew — Flickr. Find its page here.
By VICTORIA GUIDA
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Who is Jerome Powell, Trump’s pick for the nation’s most powerful economic position?
Who is Jerome Powell, Trump’s pick for the nation’s most powerful economic position?
"Yellen's background as a trained economist and experienced Fed official gave her needed independence from the influence of Wall Street,” says Jordan Haedtler, campaign manager for Fed Up, a grass...
"Yellen's background as a trained economist and experienced Fed official gave her needed independence from the influence of Wall Street,” says Jordan Haedtler, campaign manager for Fed Up, a grass roots Democratic effort. He says it's concerning that Powell would be Trump's second Carlyle Group veteran appointed to the Fed board. Earlier this year, Trump nominated Randal Quarles, another Carlyle Group alum, to an open Fed board seat overseeing bank regulation.
Read the full article here.
Poll: Voters like Charter Schools but Want More Oversight
The Seattle Times - March 12, 2015, by Leah Todd - Voters want greater oversight for charter schools and more assurance that charters — independently run but publicly funded schools — won’t hurt...
The Seattle Times - March 12, 2015, by Leah Todd - Voters want greater oversight for charter schools and more assurance that charters — independently run but publicly funded schools — won’t hurt other public schools by drawing students away, a new national poll suggests.
Two education policy groups that are generally skeptical of charters — In the Public Interest and the Center for Popular Democracy — conducted the poll, which involved interviews with 1,000 randomly selected registered voters from across the country.
They found that while the public is mostly supportive of charter schools, most voters surveyed said they wanted better financial auditing and oversight. Though nearly one in three respondents said they knew nothing about charter schools, 62 percent said they would prefer to decrease or keep the same number of charters in their area.
A lack of choice about where to send children to school wasn’t a major issue among the voters interviewed — only about 10 percent listed that as a top concern.
The top areas of concern for those surveyed were lack of parental involvement, too much focus on standardized tests and large class sizes.
The voters surveyed overwhelmingly supported audits of charter schools’ finances to detect fraud or waste, and said that before a charter school opens, its impact on nearby public schools should be studied.
The former is already happening in Washington state, where the charter school commission has increased its oversight of the state’s lone charter following financial and organizational problems. The commission has added more financial reporting to its charter application process and has ordered a state audit into the school’s finances.
This year, lawmakers in six states considered bills to limit the number of charter schools in their states, and nine states proposed increasing charter-school transparency and adding oversight, according to Kyle Serrette, director of education at the Center for Popular Democracy.
In Washington, Sen. Jeannie Darnielle, D-Tacoma, proposed a bill that would mandate performance audits for charters and allow no more than three charter schools to open simultaneously in any single school district. The bill died in committee.
You can dig into more of the poll’s results here.
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Immigration Advocates Praise de Blasio's Proposal for Municipal ID Program
Immigration advocates are praising Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposal for a municipal ID program.
In his State of the City address, de Blasio said that the city would make ID...
Immigration advocates are praising Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposal for a municipal ID program.
In his State of the City address, de Blasio said that the city would make ID cards available to all New Yorkers.
That includes people who usually can't get other forms of identification, like the homeless and undocumented immigrants.
On Tuesday, the Center for Popular Democracy released a report analyzing similar programs in other cities.
Advocates say that the program could be a big help to vulnerable populations.
"Without this ID, it can be difficult to register to a child for school. It can be difficult to open a bank account. It can be difficult to even exercise your right to vote, to file a complaint with the police department," said Brittny Saunders of the Center for Popular Democracy.
"We also want to make sure that this card is available to multiple constituencies in this city," said City Councilman Carlos Menchaca of Brooklyn. "There's so many constituencies in this city that can benefit from this card, so we want to make sure that we know all those so we design the best cards that everyone has it."
Menchaca, who is the immigration chair for the City Council, also said that the Council plans to hold hearings in the next month about the best way to design the program.
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Immigrants in US illegally see this election as crucial - See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/immigrants-in-us-illegally-see-this-election-as-crucial-1.2472426#sthash.BroJZxQz.dpuf
Immigrants in US illegally see this election as crucial - See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/immigrants-in-us-illegally-see-this-election-as-crucial-1.2472426#sthash.BroJZxQz.dpuf
NEW YORK, N.Y. - There was never any doubt Juana Alvarez's 18- and 20-year-old American-born daughters would be taking part in the election this year. Alvarez did her best to see to that.
"...
NEW YORK, N.Y. - There was never any doubt Juana Alvarez's 18- and 20-year-old American-born daughters would be taking part in the election this year. Alvarez did her best to see to that.
"I had two people I wanted to get registered and I registered them," Alvarez, a 39-year-old housekeeper in Brooklyn who came to the U.S. from Mexico as a teenager, said through a translator.
For Alvarez and the estimated 11 million other immigrants living illegally in the U.S., this is a potentially crucial election, with Republican Donald Trump talking about mass deportations and a border wall and Democrat Hillary Clinton pledging to support immigration reform and protect President Barack Obama's executive actions on behalf of immigrants.
Come Election Day, these immigrants will be watching from the sidelines, their future in the hands of others. Under the U.S. Constitution, only full citizens can vote; legal immigrants who are green card holders also are not allowed to cast a ballot.
Trump has spoken of fears of election fraud or that immigrants living illegally in the country might vote. More broadly, he has said all immigrants should play by the legal rules.
Alvarez and others like her say although they can't vote, they have been taking part in get-out-the-vote efforts among citizens.
In places like New York, California, Arizona and Virginia, they have been knocking on doors and making telephone calls, registering people, urging them to go to the polls, and telling their stories in hopes of persuading voters to keep the interests of immigrants in mind when they go into the booth.
"For me, it's important that those who can vote come out of the shadows and make their voices heard," Alvarez said.
Isabel Medina, a 43-year-old from Los Angeles who has been in the country illegally for 20 years and has three sons, two born in the U.S., has worked phone banks and taken part in voter registration drives for U.S. citizens, making sure that "even though they're frustrated, they are disappointed, they still realize it is really important, that they know the power that they have in their hands."
She says she emphasized the need to vote for all the races, not just the presidency, and the importance of taking part in referendums and propositions.
Even though these immigrants can't vote, their pre-Election Day efforts make a difference, said Karina Ruiz, 32, of Phoenix, who came to the U.S. illegally from Mexico when she was 15 and is acting executive director of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition, an immigrant-advocacy group that has been doing get-out-the-vote work.
"It is making an impact because those people who wouldn't vote otherwise, when they listen to my story and hear their vote does count and make a difference, they're encouraged to participate and be my voice," said Ruiz, who has a work permit and an exemption from deportation under Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. That policy was created by executive order, one that could be undone by any president in the future.
"I think to myself: I could just vote once, if I had the power to," she said. But "if I can influence 50 to 60 people to go ahead and vote, that's my voice multiplied by a whole lot."
As for what will happen after Election Day, "the uncertainty, it is there, I don't know what's going to happen," said Medina, who avoids talking about the election with her U.S.-born sons because she doesn't want them to get scared that their parents might be deported. "I am worried, yes."
By Deepti Hajela
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Protester who confronted Sen. Flake about Kavanaugh vote: 'Everyone had an impact'
Protester who confronted Sen. Flake about Kavanaugh vote: 'Everyone had an impact'
Though the demonstrators who confronted Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator over his support of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have found themselves in the spotlight for their emotional plea,...
Though the demonstrators who confronted Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator over his support of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have found themselves in the spotlight for their emotional plea, they're crediting everybody who has spoken up with potentially changing Flake's mind.
Read the full article here.
Seis meses después de “María”, Puerto Rico sigue en lucha por reconstrucción
Seis meses después de “María”, Puerto Rico sigue en lucha por reconstrucción
“Tuesday, March 20th from organizations across the nation take to the streets in DC to make sure that @fema, Congress, and the Trump Administration hear our demands.”
...
“Tuesday, March 20th from organizations across the nation take to the streets in DC to make sure that @fema, Congress, and the Trump Administration hear our demands.”
Read the full article here.
Activist groups march in Pittsburgh for People's Convention
Activist groups march in Pittsburgh for People's Convention
Hundreds of protesters attending the People's Convention in Downtown Pittsburgh took about two hours to march Friday in hot, humid weather from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center to Station...
Hundreds of protesters attending the People's Convention in Downtown Pittsburgh took about two hours to march Friday in hot, humid weather from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center to Station Square.
The march, which started at 2:30 p.m., made stops at the U.S. Steel Building and the Allegheny County Courthouse on Grant Street before ending at Station Square.
Marchers carried hand-painted, cardboard busts of presidential candidate Donald Trump and UPMC CEO Jeffrey Romoff, orange butterflies on bamboo poles, and banners bearing the slogan, "still we rise." Chants rose above the din of after traffic as prosters cried phrases like, "No justice, no peace," and "Ain't no power like the power of the people, because the power of the people don't stop."
At Seventh and Grant Street, police and marchers talked. One woman took a selfie with an officer — typical of the friendly exchanges between protesters and police.
Jose Lopez, of Brooklyn said he attended the march with Make the Road New York, a nonprofit that advocates for immigrant rights.
"It's been really great. We have a lot of working people with us. A lot of our folks don't have the wages or the opportunity to meet the community and get off the block. So it's great to be here."
Pittsburgh police maintained a visible presence along the parade route. Officers on motorcycles and bicycles assembled before the march.
The march has been planned for some time, but it comes less than 24 hours after five Dallas police officers were fatally shot during a march protesting the recent shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana by police officers.
Seven other Dallas officers were injured in an incident President Barack Obama said "horrified" America.
Erin Morey, of Mt. Lebanon, came out to show support, particularly for Martin Esqivel Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant who was arrested at his Pittsburgh home and faces deportation.
"Every voice should be heard," said Morey, whose son Max accompanied her. "I want to support an open dialogue."
The progressive groups involved in the Pittsburgh march were hosted by the Center for Popular Democracy. They voiced concerns regarding immigration, labor, environmental and civil rights causes. The group stopped at the courthouse, but officials there had already sent civilian workers home for the day and closed the building at 2:30 p.m.
"Right now, it's going great," said Pittsburgh police Chief Cameron McLay, who walked along with the marchers, shaking hands and chatting with reporters.
"I expected to find the atmosphere more tense," he said.
McLay said the officers he'd spoken with remained positive.
"I'm really, really proud of them," he said. "Right now, they're so focused on the task before them, they're not thinking about feelings," he said.
Some marchers delivered a sharper message with a red banner that said "fire killer cops."
Among others, the groups marched by the offices of the Federal Reserve, Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Bank of New York Mellon and even train tracks, which the groups say carry crude oil, which is targeted by climate change opponents.
Toomey stayed away from his Station Square office on Pittsburgh's South Shore. Instead, the Lehigh Valley Republican held a news conference on the North Shore to express his support for law enforcement.
"It was not a good place to be," Toomey said of Station Square.
Toomey described the viral images of fatal police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota as "very disturbing," and said both incidents need to be thoroughly investigated. But the shooting rampage that left five police officers dead and seven others wounded in Dallas "has no possible justification," Toomey said.
"The vast majority of officers are good, decent, honest and hard-working individuals," Toomey said. "What is completely wrong is the narrative that somehow cops generally are the bad guys. That narrative is something I have been pushing back on because it's wrong."
Toomey's election opponent, Democrat Katie McGinty, also shared support for police and called for thorough investigations of the shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.
In messages posted to Twitter, the city police department offered condolences to Dallas police and Gov. Tom Wolf ordered flags to be flown at half staff.
In Greensburg, the police department posted a lengthy message on Facebook that served, in part, to remind readers that police officers are human beings who are part of a larger community.
Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik held a Mass at noon for about 70 people at Saint Mary of Mercy Church in Downtown to pray for peace and reconciliation in light of the Dallas shootings.
"Yesterday was Dallas, Wednesday was Baton Rouge, Tuesday was St. Paul. And Monday, July 4th our own Wood Street. Violence continues," Zubik said during the sermon.
"Where will it be today, where will it be tomorrow? Will it stop? Do we want it to stop?" he said.
Zubik compared violence to a disease and said that it rips families apart. He asked for attendees to think of the communities affected by violence across the nation, as they are neighbors and that it was senseless to direct blame at "one group of individuals." He said "it's imperative to tear down our own prejudices."
Zubik reminded the group that there's no competition for "whose life matters most," invoking the Black Lives Matter movement. The service ended with a prayer for first responders and others involved in public safety.
"I thought the sermon was incredible," said Marie Atria of Mt. Lebanon, "this is all terrible and it has to stop."
The Church said it was a normal attendance for a midday Friday mass. Pittsburgh has a potential for violence, but the "overwhelming response from the citizens of Western Pennsylvania is they're working for peace," Zubik said.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald released a joint statement regarding the violence in Louisiana, Minnesota and Texas:
"Today, our nation is in mourning for the deaths of so many in our community. We are hurt, angry, confused and in pain as we struggle to cope with the violence plaguing us. Our answer to the violence in our community cannot be more violence. Pittsburgh's strength has always been in coming together to solve issues and supporting each other in times of need. We rely on that strength and we need it now more than ever.
"We have great faith that all of us – residents, communities, law enforcement, activists – have the capacity to come together to heal from our pain and anger, no matter how difficult that may be for us. We can do more to honor the lives of those who were killed by working together to stop the violence and have a more peaceful community."
Peduto called for a "peace summit" to be held next week, but a date hasn't been determined.
Reporting by Max Siegelbaum, Megan Guza, Justin Merriman and Matthew Santoni.
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Calls Renewed for Charter School Regulations
The Philadelphia Tribune - December 12, 2014, by Wilford Shamlin -A new report calls for tighter regulations of Philadelphia charter schools, concluding wasteful spending at the privately managed...
The Philadelphia Tribune - December 12, 2014, by Wilford Shamlin -A new report calls for tighter regulations of Philadelphia charter schools, concluding wasteful spending at the privately managed schools costs a yearly average of more than $1.5 million of taxpayers’ money, and more than $30 million since 1997.
“Pennsylvania lawmakers have not given oversight bodies the tools they need to detect that fraud and stop it early,” according to a report prepared by three nonprofit agencies, ACTION United, The Center For Popular Democracy, and Integrity In Education.
The three groups are part of the umbrella group, Philly Coalition Advocating for Public Schools (PCAPS), which continued to seek greater oversight of privately managed charter schools that are publicly funded like their district-run counterparts. The group’s members delivered copies of its findings and recommendations this week to the state Attorney General’s Office and the Philadelphia School Reform Commission (SRC), which oversees the city’s public school system.
ACTION United, which has criticized the school district for policies and practices it deems unfair, reported no significant action on the 20-page report released in September. The renewed push for increased regulations on charter schools comes as the state-controlled commission ended its seven-year ban on considering new charter school applications in an effort to control operating costs.
The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers union wants the moratorium reinstated until measures are taken to increase charter school regulation and improve transparency. The state Legislature required the school district to start considering new charter school applications as a condition to receive a sales tax on cigarette packs sold in Philadelphia.
Local activists and educators called for the state Attorney General’s Office to investigate whether all charter schools have appropriate levels of internal controls and policies to prevent fraud. Oversight agencies have inadequate resources to maintain staff needed to assess fraud and conduct targeted audits.
The nonprofit organization asked 62 charter schools to provide details about fraud prevention practices, but about half of the respondents replied and only four school districts had adequate fraud prevention practices on the books.
Earlier this week, the group called for providing additional funding to the SRC for improving oversight of fraud risk management practices in all publicly funded schools. They made calls for more leadership from the governor’s office, and for granting authority to city or county controllers to assess fraud risk and conduct audits of school district’s finances.
There are only two auditors for the school district, with more than 200 public schools. And implementation of charter school fraud risk management programs has been lacking in publicly funded schools and fraudulent activities aren’t typically exposed by the type of audits that are conducted, according to PCAPS.
“General auditing techniques alone don’t uncover fraud,” according to the report.
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