Holder Sets Deadline for Financial-Crisis Cases Against Individuals

By Andrew Grossman 

WASHINGTON--Attorney General Eric Holder wants Justice Department lawyers to decide within three months whether they can win cases against any individuals for actions ahead of the financial crisis.

Mr. Holder said Tuesday he has asked U.S. attorneys involved in reaching mortgage-related civil settlements with big banks to weigh whether "they think they're going to be able to successfully bring criminal or civil cases against" individuals and report back within 90 days.

The deadline comes as Mr. Holder prepares to step down as attorney general amid continuing criticism from lawmakers and others for failing to bring charges against any top executives at financial firms for conduct that helped fuel the 2008 meltdown.

The Justice Department has reached a series of multibillion-dollar settlements with big banks for misleading investors about the quality of residential mortgage-backed bonds, including Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. Additional probes into banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley are continuing, The Wall Street Journal has previously reported.

While the Justice Department could still decide to bring charges down the road, the 90-day deadline is intended to help the department determine whether any cases look promising and which ones to prioritize. Department officials have long maintained that they would bring cases against individuals if they thought they had the evidence it would take to win a conviction. Internally, the department has weighed criminal charges against a number of bank employees, but has yet to file any.

Mr. Holder's remarks at the National Press Club on Tuesday show he is still pushing Justice Department prosecutors and civil litigators to pursue potential cases against individuals, even those working at firms that have already settled with the government, more than six years after the financial crisis.

"To the extent that individuals have not been prosecuted, people should understand: it is not for lack of trying," Mr. Holder said. "These are the kinds of cases that people come to the Justice Department to make."

If anything comes of the review ordered by Mr. Holder, it will likely be up to his successor to decide how to handle it. Mr. Holder is expected to step down once President Barack Obama's nominee to succeed him, Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, is confirmed. The Senate is expected to vote on her nomination in the coming weeks.

Write to Andrew Grossman at [e-mail]

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