美国司法部与摩根大通幕后协议遭质疑

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.

昨天的一份诉状称，美国司法部(US Department of Justice)在与摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)以创纪录的130亿美元达成和解、以了结该行受到的不当销售抵押贷款证券的指控时，同时与后者达成了一项秘密的幕后协议。

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.

一家名为Better Markets的非营利组织已提请一家法庭宣布该幕后协议非法、并颁布禁止司法部在获得法官批准前执行该协议的禁令。Better Markets的宗旨是维护公众在金融市场上的权益。

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，司法部在未经独立司法审查的情况下使用合同协议与摩根大通达成和解，违反了美国宪法和法律。Better Markets补充称，司法部不能“在权力不受任何制约的情况下，既当调查员，又当检察官、法官、陪审团、审判者和罚款收款者”。

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.

考虑到司法部对民事案件拥有宽泛的自由裁量权，并且在法律上不须就和解事先取得法官批准，眼下Better Markets的胜诉前景不明。

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.

摩根大通与美国司法部和一些州当局之间达成这笔创纪录协议后，摩根大通可以摆脱有关其金融危机期间行为的所有政府民事调查。

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

目前尚无法联系到美国司法部置评。摩根大通拒绝置评。

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声称，司法部之所以诉诸于和解，可能更多是为了隐瞒真相，而不是揭露真相；关于摩根大通做了错什么事、伤害了谁，司法部没有披露任何有价值的事实。Better Markets表示，法庭可以在司法审查中，要求获知有关摩根大通违规行为的更多细节。

“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总裁丹尼斯•凯莱赫(Dennis Kelleher)表示：“当初对华尔街的纾困已经足够糟糕了，但如今纳税人还要被迫接受一笔秘密的幕后协议，它很有可能又是一笔见不得人的‘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.

凯莱赫表示，Better Markets并不是整个质疑司法部就民事案件达成和解的权力，但他认为，考虑到摩根大通案的影响范围和严重后果，关于此案的和解协议本应受到司法审查。

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.

作为协议的一部分，摩根大通无需承认自己有任何违法行为。与司法部和其他监管机构的和解协议，导致该行出现杰米•戴蒙(Jamie Dimon)任首席执行官以来的首次亏损。

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.

但这130亿美元不完全从该行的法定准备金中支付。其中大部分金额将以减免税款的形式实现，约40亿美元将以消费者救助金的形式用来帮助陷入困境的房屋所有者。司法部、纽约和加利福尼亚等州的检察总长、美国国家信用合作社管理局(NCUA)和联邦住房金融管理局(FHFA)将分享余下金额。

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，美国参议员伊丽莎白•沃伦(Elizabeth Warren)和汤姆•科伯恩(Tom Coburn)推出了一项两党议案，该议案将强制性要求政府机构详细披露与涉嫌违规的银行等企业达成的和解协议的具体内容。