Articles by Sarah N. Lynch

Wells Fargo Employees Claim They Were Fired for Reporting Sales Tactics

At least five Wells Fargo employees have sued the bank or filed complaints with regulators alleging that they were fired after reporting the opening of customer accounts without their permission, according to a Reuters review of lawsuits and complaints to …

Consumer Agency Seeks to Limit Financial Firms’ Arbitration Clauses

Banks and credit card companies may not force customers to sign away their legal rights to take part in class action lawsuits, under an early-stage U.S. government proposal that is likely to draw ire from Wall Street. The Consumer Financial …

Study Alleges SEC Inflates Enforcement Statistics

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s metrics for computing annual enforcement statistics are “deeply flawed,” making the agency falsely appear as though it is getting tougher every year, a new academic study concluded. The draft study by Emory University law …

Flood Insurance Claims Underpayments Not Widespread: Senate Study

The U.S. government’s appeals process for reviewing flood insurance claim disputes is riddled with flaws, but there is no evidence of systematic underpayments by insurers to flood victims, an investigation by U.S. Senate staffers has found. “Despite widespread concerns, it …

MetLife Seeks Documents from Systemic Risk Panel

MetLife asked a federal judge on Monday to force the U.S. government to hand over 500 pages of confidential records that relate to financial regulators’ decision to designate the insurance giant as systemically important. In a filing in U.S. District …

Flood Insurance Claims Underpayments Not Widespread: Senate Study

The U.S. government’s appeals process for reviewing flood insurance claim disputes is riddled with flaws, but there is no evidence of systematic underpayments by insurers to flood victims, an investigation by U.S. Senate staffers has found. “Despite widespread concerns, it …

Senate Committee Passes Dodd-Frank Relief Bill Without Democrats

A bill to ease regulations across the U.S. financial sector passed a Senate committee on Thursday with no support from Democrats, in a setback to the largest overhaul of 2010 banking reforms since the rules were put in place. The …

Investor Panel Eyes Improved Online Background Checks of Financial Professionals

A panel of investor advocates said on Thursday they were developing a proposal for U.S. securities regulators that will make it easier for retail investors to conduct online background checks of financial professionals before hiring them. The Securities and Exchange …

House Bill Targets Systemic Risk Panel Transparency

A Republican congressman and a Democratic colleague have introduced a bill to shed more light on the workings of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which watches for emerging threats to market stability. The draft bill by Florida Republican Dennis Ross …

Whistleblower Tips, Award Amount Increased in 2014, Reports SEC

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission received more than 3,500 tips from whistleblowers in fiscal year 2014, the largest number received since the program went into effect three years ago. The SEC announced the increase in its Nov. 17 annual …