… On the one hand, [the SEC] wants the judge to agree that what Citi did was a Bad Thing and needs to be punished severely, to the tune of $285mm (or $95mm, whatever*). On the other hand, it can’t make things sound so bad that the judge says “screw this settlement, we’re going to trial and taking them for everything they’re worth” – because the SEC doesn’t seem all that confident that it would win a trial. As a further complication, the SEC needs to look like it has some idea of what it’s doing, to preserve some credibility for the next case.
Read more: SEC Uses “Because I Said So” Tactic With Judge Rakoff — Dealbreaker
