美國司法部與摩根大通幕後協議遭質疑

The US Justice Department reached a secretive, backroom deal when it agreed to a landmark $13bn settlement with JPMorgan Chase to resolve allegations that the bank mis-sold mortgage securities, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday.

昨天的一份訴狀稱，美國司法部(US Department of Justice)在與摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)以創紀錄的130億美元達成和解、以了結該行受到的不當銷售抵押貸款證券的指控時，同時與後者達成了一項祕密的幕後協議。

Better Markets, a non-profit group that promotes the public interest in financial markets, is asking a court to declare the deal unlawful and issue an injunction to prevent the DoJ from enforcing it until it has been approved by a judge.

一家名爲Better Markets的非營利組織已提請一家法庭宣佈該幕後協議非法、並頒佈禁止司法部在獲得法官批准前執行該協議的禁令。Better Markets的宗旨是維護公衆在金融市場上的權益。

Better Markets said that the DoJ violated the US Constitution and laws by using a contract agreement to settle with JPMorgan without subjecting it to independent judicial review. Better Markets added that the agency cannot act as “investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury, sentencer and collector, without any checks on its authority”.

Better Markets表示，司法部在未經獨立司法審查的情況下使用合同協議與摩根大通達成和解，違反了美國憲法和法律。Better Markets補充稱，司法部不能“在權力不受任何制約的情況下，既當調查員，又當檢察官、法官、陪審團、審判者和罰款收款者”。

The chances of Better Markets’ lawsuit succeeding are unclear given the DoJ has broad discretion in civil matters and is not legally required to obtain a judge’s approval for settlements.

考慮到司法部對民事案件擁有寬泛的自由裁量權，並且在法律上不須就和解事先取得法官批准，眼下Better Markets的勝訴前景不明。

The record deal reached in November between JPMorgan, the DoJ and state authorities let the bank put the civil government inquiries emanating from the financial crisis behind it.

摩根大通與美國司法部和一些州當局之間達成這筆創紀錄協議後，摩根大通可以擺脫有關其金融危機期間行爲的所有政府民事調查。

The DoJ could not be reached for comment. JPMorgan declined to comment.

目前尚無法聯繫到美國司法部置評。摩根大通拒絕置評。

The group alleges that the DoJ may have entered into the deal to hide more than to reveal, saying that the agency disclosed no meaningful facts about what JPMorgan did and who it hurt. As part of the judicial review, Better Markets said that the court could ask for more details about JPMorgan’s violations.

Better Markets聲稱，司法部之所以訴諸於和解，可能更多是爲了隱瞞真相，而不是揭露真相；關於摩根大通做了錯什麼事、傷害了誰，司法部沒有披露任何有價值的事實。Better Markets表示，法庭可以在司法審查中，要求獲知有關摩根大通違規行爲的更多細節。

“The Wall Street bailouts were bad enough, but now taxpayers are being forced to accept a secretive backroom deal that may well have been another sweetheart deal,” said Dennis Kelleher, president of Better Markets.

Better Markets總裁丹尼斯•凱萊赫(Dennis Kelleher)表示：“當初對華爾街的紓困已經足夠糟糕了，但如今納稅人還要被迫接受一筆祕密的幕後協議，它很有可能又是一筆見不得人的‘私下交易’(sweetheart deal)。”

Mr Kelleher said that his group was not disputing the DoJ’s authority to settle civil matters in general, but given the scope and ramifications of the JPMorgan case, he argues that it should have been reviewed by the courts.

凱萊赫表示，Better Markets並不是整個質疑司法部就民事案件達成和解的權力，但他認爲，考慮到摩根大通案的影響範圍和嚴重後果，關於此案的和解協議本應受到司法審查。

As part of the deal, JPMorgan did not admit that any law had been broken. The deal with the DoJ and other regulators caused the bank to report a loss for the first time since Jamie Dimon became chief executive.

作爲協議的一部分，摩根大通無需承認自己有任何違法行爲。與司法部和其他監管機構的和解協議，導致該行出現傑米•戴蒙(Jamie Dimon)任首席執行官以來的首次虧損。

But not all of the $13bn represents a direct hit to the bank’s legal reserves. The majority is tax deductible and about $4bn will be in the form of consumer relief to help struggling homeowners. The rest will be divided between the DoJ, attorneys-general from states including New York and California, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Housing Finance Authority.

但這130億美元不完全從該行的法定準備金中支付。其中大部分金額將以減免稅款的形式實現，約40億美元將以消費者救助金的形式用來幫助陷入困境的房屋所有者。司法部、紐約和加利福尼亞等州的檢察總長、美國國家信用合作社管理局(NCUA)和聯邦住房金融管理局(FHFA)將分享餘下金額。

In January, US senators Elizabeth Warren and Tom Coburn introduced a bipartisan bill that would force government agencies to reveal the details of deals reached with banks and other groups accused of wrongdoing.

今年1月，美國參議員伊麗莎白•沃倫(Elizabeth Warren)和湯姆•科伯恩(Tom Coburn)推出了一項兩黨議案，該議案將強制性要求政府機構詳細披露與涉嫌違規的銀行等企業達成的和解協議的具體內容。