SEC Letting Large Banks Off

A New York Times analysis shows that the Securities and Exchange Commission has been giving a pass on the biggest Wall Street firms in the last decade, letting them off on punishments meant to apply to fraud cases. The Times found nearly 350 instances in the last 10 years where the SEC has let financial giants like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America have advantages reserved for the most dependable companies and avoiding punishments when their financial forecasts turn out to be wrong. According to the report, JPMorgan Chase has settled six fraud cases in the last 13 years, but it has obtained at least 22 waivers. Bank of America has settled 15 fraud cases and received at least 39 waivers.