Month of January , 2008

Union coalition asks Merrill Lynch, Citigroup directors for explanations of their risk-assessment ‘failures’

A coalition of union pension funds isn’t ready to write off the billions of dollars in Merrill Lynch and Citigroup subprime mortgage-related write-downs as simply the cost of doing business in a turbulent lending market.

The CtW Investment Group called on four Merrill Lynch directors to divulge any steps they took to shield shareholders from the mortgage-related risk that led Merrill Lynch to write down more than $18 billion related to exposure to subprime mortgages and various mortgage-backed debt securities in the second half of 2007.

Survey finds large spending increase over last five years, but disproportionate allocation of funds

Banks spent an average of $83.54 million on compliance in 2006, an 87 percent increase from the $44.78 million average in 2002, with more growth expected in the coming years, according to Don Ogilvie, the Independent Chairman of the Deloitte Center for Banking Solutions.