The federal government has fined Bank of America $250 million for alleged improprieties in its foreign exchange, or forex, trading business. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency says B of A, JP Morgan Chase, and Citigroup failed to stop their employees from improper conduct, including using online chat rooms to manipulate the forex market. JPMorganChase and Citigroup were each fined $350 million in connection with the misconduct.
UNC Tutor Adds Chancellor And Provost To Lawsuit
A former tutor at UNC Chapel Hill suing the school has added the university’s chancellor and provost to her lawsuit. Mary Willingham says the university demoted her because she raised concerns about athletes’ reading levels and so-called “paper classes.”
Willingham says the classes, which didn’t meet and only required a research paper at the end of the semester, helped keep athletes eligible. She’s seeking reinstatement and damages of at least $10,000.
SC Rural School Districts Win Funding Lawsuit
The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled today in favor of rural school districts in a 21-year-old education funding lawsuit. The 3-to-2 decision says legislators aren’t doing enough financially to guarantee “minimally adequate” public education in poor areas of the state.
The ruling directs legislators and school district officials to work together to solve the state's "constitutional deficiency." Lawmakers argued that the General Assembly should have the final say on school funding decisions, not the courts. But the justices decided that districts can better identify solutions for their needs.
The high court re-heard arguments two years ago on the case. The justices set the “minimally adequate” education standard in a 1999 ruling on the case.
BB&T Expanding In Mid-Atlantic Region
BB&T is expanding its presence in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Winston-Salem based bank today announced a deal to buy Pensylvannia-basedSusquenhannaBankshares. Susquehanna has 245 offices in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and West Virginia according to a securities filing. Under the $2.5 billion agreement, Susquehanna stockholders will receive BB&T stock and cash worth $13.75 a share.
Today’s announcement comes two months after BB&T acquired 41 Citigroup branches in Texas and a bank in Kentucky.
BB&T stock is down about 2.6 percent this morning.