Banks Get Reason for Cheer Despite Naughty Affiliates

Five major banks got early Christmas gifts Dec. 21 from the Department of Labor: permission to keep managing pension and retirement assets despite the coal in their stockings resulting from various criminal activities by their affiliates.

Deutsche Bank AG, Citigroup Inc., UBS Assets Management, JP Morgan Chase & Co., and Barclays Capital Inc. were the likely merry recipients of temporary relief from the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. As of Dec. 21, the banks have up to a year under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to act as qualified professional asset managers.

The exemptions come with a warning: The ...