Law360, Los Angeles (April 29, 2015, 8:27 PM ET) — Bank of America Corp. will pay $180 million to settle claims in an antitrust class action alleging it was part of a conspiracy to rig the approximately $5 trillion-per-day foreign exchange market, according to a Wednesday securities filing.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said in a 10-Q form that it would use its existing reserves to cover the cost of settling the suit and that the deal is subject to court approval. Bank of America announced the settlement on Apr. 16 but didn’t disclose the amount…

Source: Law360

Robert Kraus lost his job in 2006 after he says he raised red flags about questionable activities in the corporate and investment bank at Wachovia, now part of Wells Fargo. Since then, he says he has fallen behind on his mortgage because he hasn’t been able to find work in financial services.

“It’s impossible to support my family,” Kraus said in an interview. “I’m unable to find work in my field.”

Wells Fargo started foreclosure proceedings against Kraus and his wife, Julianne, in December, according to court documents. The Krauses are behind on payments on the $515,000 mortgage for their Waxhaw home. A hearing before the Union County Clerk of Superior Court is scheduled for June 9.

It’s not unusual for whistleblowers to fall on hard times, said Fred Alford, a professor of government at the University of Maryland who has written a book on whistleblowers. About half lose their…

• More than seven years after the global financial collapse, regulators and investors are still working through a mile-high pile of lawsuits and other civil actions, and it seems like the fines keep on coming.
• Since the crisis, banks and other institutions have paid more than $150B in fines, settlements and other penalties, according to a tally by FT. That compares with the roughly $700B in profits generated by U.S. banks between 2007 and 2014.
• So where have all the payments gone? The biggest have landed in the Justice Department, which has collected some $50B. Other heavy collectors include the FHFA, Fannie Mae, HUD and the SEC.
• Among the banks paying the biggest amounts, BofA (NYSE:BAC) tops the list – with nearly $58B, followed by JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) ($31.3B), Citigroup (NYSE:C) ($12.8B) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) ($9.7B).

THE HIDDEN TRUTH

Behind the collapse of the economy in the U.S. and around the world is the massive loss of pension and retirement funds belonging to government employees, union workers and corporate 401k beneficiaries – these were the “investors” in the securitization fraud stemming from the unregulated derivatives.  Hordes of lawsuits have been filed by investors against Wall Street banks, but it’s pretty obvious the money is gone.