Articles by Suzanne Barlyn

New York Regulates Crime Insurance Underwriting of Firms Hiring Ex-Convicts

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday issued a regulation making it easier for businesses to hire former convicts by prohibiting insurance companies from refusing coverage for crime-related losses caused by employees. The commercial crime insurance regulation, the first of …

Senate Bill Would Let Wells Fargo Customers Sue in Court, Bypass Arbitration

Legislation introduced by two Democratic lawmakers on Thursday would allow Wells Fargo & Co. customers to go to court, instead of private arbitration, to resolve claims about accounts opened without authorization, according to a media release. The bill, which faces …

New York Attorney General Concerned Trump May Gut Anti-Fraud Law

New York’s top law enforcement official said he does not want U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s administration to “eviscerate” the state’s anti-fraud law that has dropped a hammer on Wall Street corruption. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said on Thursday …

Regulators Look to State Laws as Republicans Move to Change Dodd-Frank

State securities regulators said they may have to rely more heavily on local laws to police banks and finance companies if President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress roll back federal reforms introduced after the financial crisis. For example, New …

Wells Fargo Account Scandal Included Small Businesses, Says Senator

The scandal over improper sales practices at Wells Fargo & Co extended to thousands of small-business owners, according to a U.S. lawmaker, raising questions about the scope the bank’s issues with unauthorized accounts. In a Sept. 29 letter viewed by …

Mandatory Arbitration Clause Could Thwart Wells Fargo Customers’ Lawsuits

Wells Fargo & Co. customers aiming to sue the bank over bogus accounts opened in their names may be in for an unpleasant surprise: the fine print requires them to take their claims to an arbitrator instead of a court. …

New York Confirms Vullo as State’s Top Financial Regulator

The New York State on Wednesday confirmed Governor Andrew Cuomo’s pick to become the state’s top financial regulator. The confirmation vote for Maria Vullo, Cuomo’s nominee for superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), was unanimous. …

N.Y. Financial Regulator Nominee Vullo Signals Business-Friendly Approach

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s pick to become the state’s top financial regulator on Wednesday signaled she would take a more business-friendly approach than her predecessor, who was known for his pursuit of big banks. “I believe in compromise to …

Judge Dismisses Ex-Broker’s Privacy Claim Against Regulatory Website

A U.S. judge threw out a lawsuit against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) by a former broker who alleged that disclosures on the regulator’s public database violated his privacy rights. The former broker, Alan Santos-Buch, sued FINRA, Wall Street’s …

South Carolina Jury Awards $8.1 Million to Investor Who Sued BB&T

A South Carolina jury on Monday awarded $8.1 million to a former adviser who sold his wealth management business to BB&T Corp. and later alleged that the company mismanaged his retirement nest egg with a risky strategy, according to a …