Pay up: The tally for credit crisis and mortgage-related settlements now stands at $132.15 billion for the six largest bank holding institutions by total assets, according to data compiled by SNL Financial. The figure marks an additional $3.72 billion since SNL’s previous analysis in August 2014. Most recently, on July 31, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. agreed to pay nearly $270 million to settle a lawsuit led by the NECA-IBEW Health & Welfare Fund of Illinois concerning crisis-era residential mortgage-backed security investments. Goldman recently revised its cost estimate for current legal proceedings to approximately $5.9 billion in excess of reserves, up from its previous estimate of $3.8 billion, according to the company’s Aug. 3 Form 10-Q. SNL Financial has a full listing of settlements.
Working for a living: Louisiana’s jobless rate remained above the national and Southern averages in June, a report issued Monday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates. Preliminary data puts Louisiana’s unemployment rate at 6.4%, compared to 5.3% both for the South and the nation as a whole. The number of employees on nonfarm payrolls, though, rose from 1,980,800 in June 2014 to 1,994,200 in June 2015. See the full report.
An uncertain season: Les Miles heads into his second decade as LSU’s coach under more pressure than usual, The Associated Press reports. The Tigers weren’t close to contending for a Southeastern Conference title last season, going 4-4 in the league. Then they were upset by Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl, marking LSU’s second loss in a non-BCS bowl in three seasons. During public appearances in Louisiana this offseason, Miles didn’t try to sugarcoat last season’s 8-5 overall record. “Eight wins is not enough for us,” Miles said. Players, likewise, associate 2014 with failure. Read the full story.
