U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff has, finally, approved Bank of America Corporation’s $150 million settlement with the SEC.
Rakoff called the settlement “better than nothing” and “half-baked justice at best” but nevertheless said the law required him to give “substantial deference” to the SEC in approving the accord, reports the LA Times.
Remarking that the $150 million fine is “modest”, Rakoff maintained that it “penalizes the shareholders for what was, in effect if not in intent, a fraud by management on the shareholders”.
In September last year, Rakoff rejected a proposed $33 million agreement between the SEC and BofA, criticizing the SEC for accepting a lenient penalty that failed to hold individuals to account.
