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	The world"s biggest banks fined for malpractices by AFP, Reuters, New York Times USA   European Union anti-trust regulators have imposed $2.5 billion in fines against six of the world"s biggest banks for rigging key interest rates that affect vast sums of money around the world.   EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia says he is shocked at the scale of the scam and has vowed to continue to investigate. Deutsche Bank received the biggest fine of just over $1 billion, while the Royal Bank of Scotland, JP Morgan and Citigroup were also penalised over the Libor rigging scandal.   Swiss Bank, UBS and Britain"s Barclay bank avoided fines of nearly $5 billion because they revealed the existence of a cartel.   Banks that have paid their fines qualify for a 10 per cent discount, while some banks are fighting the penalties.   These latest fines add to billions already paid by banks in other jurisdictions over rate rigging scandals.   "What is shocking is not only the manipulation of benchmark but the cartel," Mr Almunia said, adding that the fine was meant to both "punish and dissuade".   The commission is now investigating the alleged rigging of the Swiss franc, and does not exclude "more investigations in the same area", Mr Alumnia said. It is "not the end of the story", he warned.   The sanction comes after several other massive penalties imposed on the world"s biggest banks over the malpractices which have besmirched the reputation of the sector.   A Guide to the Latest Efforts to Hold Big Banks Accountable. (ProPublica)   It’s been an expensive few months for JPMorgan Chase. The bank is in talks—which could still fall through—to pay a record $13 billion to the Department of Justice and other agencies over several probes into alleged mortgage misconduct during the run-up to the financial crisis.   Amid talks of the mortgage settlement, the bank agreed to pay out another $920 million, this time to settle allegations in the “London Whale” trading scandal. Overall, the bank has spent or set aside $28 billion for legal costs since 2010. The company reported its first loss under Chief Executive Jamie Dimon in early October.   Meanwhile, Bank of America, Citigroup and others have also recently agreed to large settlements related to allegations ranging from staying hush about an ongoing Ponzi scheme to levying extra fees from customers. While many are paying up, few are actually admitting guilt. Many banks are able to settle lawsuits for large sums of cash without ever “admitting or denying” wrongdoing. This has long been a major point of contention in the effort to regulate big banks.   And the cases keep coming: Many banks are being investigated by multiple state and federal agencies, meaning they can be sued or investigated multiple times over what might seem like the same allegation.   If you’re having a hard time keeping track, here’s a rundown on the latest lawsuits, settlements and ongoing investigations involving big banks.   * Visit the link below to access the latest reports.   August 2013,   JPMorgan reveals it faces Civil and Criminal Inquiries, by Jessica Silver-Greenberg, Ben Protess. (New York Times)   JPMorgan Chase disclosed on Wednesday that it faced a criminal and civil investigation into whether it sold shoddy mortgage securities to investors in the run-up to the financial crisis, the latest legal threat to the nation’s biggest bank.   JPMorgan acknowledged for the first time the existence of the investigation — one of several mortgage-related problems looming for the bank — in a quarterly regulatory filing. It said that the civil division of the United States attorney’s office for the Eastern District of California, which covers a stretch of land that includes Sacramento and Yosemite, has “preliminarily concluded” that JPMorgan flouted federal laws with its sale of subprime mortgage securities from 2005 to 2007. The parallel criminal inquiry, according to one person briefed on the matter, is in a more preliminary stage.   Adding to scrutiny of the bank, federal prosecutors in Philadelphia are examining whether JPMorgan duped investors into buying troubled mortgage securities that later imploded, according to people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The prosecutors are investigating whether JPMorgan churned out the mortgage-backed securities without ensuring that the investments met underwriting standards, the people said.   Representatives for the bank and the federal prosecutors declined to comment.   Once a darling in regulatory circles, JPMorgan has become a magnet for scrutiny in recent years, drawing attention from at least eight federal agencies, a state regulator and two European nations. The authorities are investigating the bank in connection with its financial crisis-era mortgage business and a $6 billion trading loss in London last year, among other issues.   As the investigations drag on, the bank is racking up significant legal costs. To help cushion against potentially hefty payouts to the authorities, JPMorgan recorded a $678 million expense for additional litigation reserves in the second quarter, up from $323 million in the same period a year ago, according to the filing on Wednesday.   The bank also estimated it could incur up to $6.8 billion in losses beyond its reserves, nearly $1 billion more than the first quarter of the year.   JPMorgan is hardly the only Wall Street firm taking heat in Washington. The investigations into the bank are playing out as prosecutors increasingly take action against Wall Street firms that bundled mortgages into complex investments in the heady days of the housing boom.   On Tuesday, Bank of America found itself in the government’s cross hairs when the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission accused the bank of defrauding investors by greatly overstating the quality of mortgages backing roughly $850 million in securities. The bank contested the accusations.   The lawsuit was the latest volley from President Obama’s federal mortgage task force, which has vowed to hold financial firms accountable for their role in the mortgage boom and bust that threatened to topple the American economy.   The working group’s first action came last October, when the New York attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, took aim at Bear Stearns, the firm that JPMorgan acquired during the depths of the financial crisis. The firm, Mr. Schneiderman said in a lawsuit, sold securities between 2005 and 2007 that caused roughly $22.5 billion in losses for investors.   Investors were assured, the lawsuit said, that the firm scoured the loans packaged into the investments to assure their quality. In fact, the prosecutor contended, there was little vetting.   JPMorgan is also one of 18 banks that a federal regulator accused of selling troubled loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the government-controlled mortgage finance giants — without fully disclosing the potential risks. The regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, recently rejected a settlement offer from JPMorgan, the people briefed on the matter said, raising the prospect of a drawn-out legal battle.   In the latest investigations out of California and Philadelphia, federal prosecutors are examining whether JPMorgan ignored evidence of broad flaws among the loans that were ultimately pooled and sold to investors, the people briefed on the matter said. The California investigation is aimed at the mortgage business that JPMorgan inherited after its purchase of Washington Mutual, the people said. It is unclear what prompted the inquiry in Philadelphia.   Facing the onslaught of unwanted attention, JPMorgan has moved to settle some cases. The bank recently struck a $410 million settlement with the nation’s top energy regulator, which had accused the bank of devising “manipulative schemes” to transform “money-losing power plants into powerful profit centers.”   6 Aug 2013   US sues Bank of America over mortgage securities leading to housing bust. (AFP/Reuters)   The US government has sued Bank of America for defrauding investors in the sale of $850 million in mortgage-backed securities ahead of the housing bust.   The two civil lawsuits are the latest legal headache for the second-largest U.S. bank, which has already agreed to pay in excess of $45 billion to settle disputes stemming from the 2008 financial crisis.   Bank of America is accused of lying to investors about the riskiness of the mortgage loans backing the securities in parallel lawsuits filed by Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The bank intentionally avoided performing adequate due diligence on them, leading to investor losses surpassing $100 million, the suits said.   Unlike some of the other sub-prime-based mortgage securities that soured during the housing bust and spawned messy litigation, the mortgages were sold as "prime" loans, meaning they purportedly had a low likelihood of falling into default, the suit said.   The high rating of the loans "signified a safe and conservative investment and justified the high prices," said the complaint.   However, the suit alleges the loans were far riskier than Bank of America said.   It cited the bank"s former chief executive, Ken Lewis, as having referred to one type of loan included in the securities, "wholesale" loans executed through third-parties, as "toxic waste."   Despite the "prime" rating, at least 23 percent of the mortgages in the securities have defaulted or were delinquent as of June 2013, according to the complaint.   A Bank of America spokesman denied the bank was responsible for the losses.   In an emailed statement, he argued that the "prime" designation was justified, saying the loans in question had performed better than similar loans originated and securitized at the time by other financial institutions.   Instead, he blamed the losses on the general downturn of the market and economy, which sank into deep recession in 2008-2009.   "We are not responsible for the housing market collapse that caused mortgage loans to default at unprecedented rates and these securities to lose value as a result," he said.   The government argues that more than 40 percent of the loans in one of the bonds did not meet Bank of America"s own underwriting standards.   Many had "glaring" problems such as overstated income for the borrowers, or fake employment data, that made them "wholly inconsistent" with a prime rating, the Justice Department said.   "As a result of this lack of due diligence, Bank of America had no basis to make many of the representations it made in the offering documents regarding the credit quality of the underlying mortgages," it said.   In parallel action the Securities and Exchange Commission also levelled fraud charges against the bank over the same 2008 mortgage security offerings.   Bank of America has been damaged to a greater extent by the housing bust than some other rival banks, thanks in part to its purchase of Countrywide Financial, once the country"s largest originator of mortgages.   http://www.propublica.org/special/your-guide-to-the-latest-efforts-to-hold-big-banks-accountable Visit the related web page
	End violence against children by United Nations Children’s Fund & agencies   Violence against children often goes unseen, unheard and unreported the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said launching a new initiative urging the international community to speak out more forcefully against the scourge, which leaves millions of girls and boys physically and emotionally scarred every year.   “In every country, in every culture, there is violence against children,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “Whenever and wherever children are harmed, our outrage and anger must be seen and heard. We must make the invisible visible.”   The End Violence Against Children initiative builds on growing popular outrage that erupted following horrific attacks against children, such as the October 2012 shooting of then 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan, the fatal shooting of 26 pupils and teachers in Newtown, in the United States in December, and gang rapes of girls in India and in South Africa this year.   The initiative urges people around the world to recognize violence against children, join global, national or local movements to end it, and bring new ideas to focus collective action on this goal.   The need to take urgent action is underlined by alarming numbers on violence against children globally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 years experienced sexual violence and exploitation, and at least an estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked every year, according to a 2005 report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).   Almost half of all children experience some form of physical violence before they reach the age of 8. An estimated 215 million children are involved in child labour of which 115 million are in hazardous work.   Violence inflicts not only physical wounds but leaves mental scars on children, affecting their physical and mental health and compromising their ability to learn and socialize.   The initiative was unveiled today with a video narrated by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Liam Neeson, who leads viewers through scenes depicting invisible violence.   “This is a 15-year-old girl being gang raped,” Mr. Neeson says as the camera pans across an abandoned lot. “Just because you can’t see violence against children doesn’t mean it isn’t there,” he says. “Make the invisible visible. Help us make violence against children disappear. Join us. Speak out.”   A special website and a social media campaign will outline ways for children, parents and communities to take action – such as getting involved, getting informed, organizing events and public discussion forums, supporting child victims of violence and working with global and local UNICEF partners. www.unicef.org/endviolence/   http://www.unicef.org/protection/index.html http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_58015.html http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_57985.html http://www.crin.org/violence/formsofviolence/index.asp   The International Day of Non-Violence, was created to commemorate the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, whose philosophy and message of non-violence has inspired countless individuals and movements for freedom and civil rights.   This day encourages us all to renew commitments to #ENDviolence Against Children as we recognize the millions of children in every part of the world who experience violence on a daily basis – in schools, in communities and in their own homes, often behind closed doors and out of sight – and to consider the presence of violence in the lives of each and every one of us.   We all know someone who has been affected by some form of physical or emotional violence – whether bullying, battering, assault or abuse – and it is all of our responsibility to #ENDviolence against Children.   Violence affects children’s physical and mental health in many ways, both in the short term and in the long term. It impairs their ability to learn and to socialize, and it hinders their transition to adulthood, which can have numerous consequences later in life.   In many cases, violence and abuse against children is practised by someone known to the child, such as a parent, family member, caretaker, teacher, employer or authority figure – and sometimes by other children. Only a small number of incidents are ever reported and investigated, and few perpetrators are held accountable.   We know conclusively that violence against children is not inevitable, nor is it justifiable or tolerable simply because we think it is impossible to avoid or prevent.   There are steps that we can take to prevent violence in a short period of time such as:   • Get informed about violence against children and use what you learn to raise awareness, transform attitudes and encourage others to take action.   • Find other people working on these issues and form a network so you have a bigger voice to speak out against violence and its causes in your own community.   • Report acts of violence so that leaders and policy makers can see and understand its scale, and so you have evidence to demand attention and action ‘to make the invisible visible’.   • Lobby your local and national representatives for effective laws – not just that they are written, but that they are implemented with real accountability!   The #ENDviolence Against Children initiative demonstrates that there are solutions, especially those that come through connecting and engaging with people to tackle the roots causes of violence against children. This effort requires the commitment and involvement of everyone to prevent harm from happening in the first place, and to address it when it does.   http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_newsline.html http://www.unicef.org/whatwedo/ http://www.unicef-irc.org/video/#video Visit the related web page
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