Citigroup Radio Piece

1 Minute Radio Piece on the Citigroup / SEC settlement:

A United States district court judge has blocked a 285 million dollar settlement between the financial giant / Citigroup/ and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Jed Rakoff says that a settlement is not the admission of wrongdoing he wants in the case.

Citigroup allegedly misled investors in the housing market prior to the recession in 2008, according to the SEC lawsuit. Of ONE BILLION DOLLARS invested, / 700 million dollars were lost and Citigroup posted a 160 million dollar profit from fees.

Citigroup officials are not happy with Rakoff’s move to block the settlement.

“The proposed settlement is a fair and reasonable resolution to the SEC’s allegation of negligence,” / spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos said in a statement to Bloomberg News. / “The settlement fully complies with long-established legal standards. In the event the case is tried, we would present substantial factual and legal defenses to the charges.” /

Judge Rakoff remains steadfast in his decision:

"In any case like this that touches on the transparency of financial markets / whose gyrations have so depressed our economy and debilitated our lives, / there is an overriding public interest in knowing the truth," he said.

Time will tell if Citigroup and the SEC can come to a decision before the July 2012 trial.