A federal judge rejected a $285 million settlement between Citigroup and the Securities and Exchange Commission, objecting to the practice of allowing banks to settle fraud cases without admitting guilt. Citi may now face a trial over the sale of toxic mortgages which cost investors millions but made the bank profit. The judge said the public has a right to “the transparency of financial markets whose gyrations have so depressed our economy and debilitated our lives.” Louise Story, Wall Street and finance reporter for The New York Times, and Michael Koehler, assistant professor of business law at Butler University, discuss the legal implications of the ruling.
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