Southern District Judge Jed S. Rakoff (See Profile) continued to hound the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday on why he should accept a $285 million settlement in which Citigroup admits no wrongdoing in connection with the marketing of collateralized debt obligations it was also selling short.
For the bulk of an hour-long hearing, Judge Rakoff pressed Matthew T. Martens, the SEC’s chief litigation counsel, on the agency’s policy of entering into consent judgments with no admission by the defendant, and whether or not the judge had the power to reject the settlement as against the public interest.
