Yellen Says Any Changes to Financial Rules Should Be Modest

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said any rollback of post-crisis financial reforms should be “modest” because they’ve made the banking system safer and more resilient without unduly diminishing the supply of credit to the economy.

Yellen’s remarks could put her at odds with the Trump administration, which issued a Treasury Department report in June that called for “significant changes” to the Volcker Rule.

Trump has made deregulation a pivotal part of his agenda for the financial industry, with the president and his advisers repeatedly blaming the Dodd-Frank Act for stifling lending and economic growth. read more » 

Samsung chief gets 5-year prison term for corruption

A South Korean court has found Lee Jae-yong, the de facto chief of the sprawling Samsung business empire, guilty of bribery and other corruption charges.

Lee, the billionaire son of Samsung's ailing chairman, was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday, well short of the 12-year sentence prosecutors had sought.

The criminal conviction is a blow for Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker and South Korea's biggest family-run conglomerate whose businesses are estimated to account for around 15% of the country's entire economy.

The so-called "trial of the century" has gripped South Korea for months. It's part of a huge influence-peddling scandal that brought down the government of former President Park Geun-hye. read more » 

Samsung Electronics may face US corruption charges

Experts said today Samsung Electronics may be penalized under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which punishes U.S. firms that engage in bribery overseas. Although Samsung Electronics is not a U.S. company, the scope of the law was extended in 2008, which opened the possibility it could include the South Korean firm, experts said.

If Samsung actually faces regulations under the law, the company can be excluded from U.S. public procurement projects, state news agency Yonhap reported read more » 

U.S. Accuses Société Générale Bankers in Libor Scheme

United States authorities on Thursday charged two managers at the French bank Société Générale with taking part in a scheme to manipulate a global benchmark interest rate known as Libor.

Danielle Sindzingre, 54, the bank’s former global head of treasury, and her subordinate, Muriel Bescond, 49, the bank’s former head of treasury in Paris, were accused in an indictment of submitting false information about the rates at which the bank was able to borrow money. The indictment was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The two defendants are not in the United States, according to John Marzulli, a spokesman for federal prosecutors in Brooklyn. He declined to comment on whether or when they might be extradited. read more »