thread title uses the last words from the article - 'SEC Cops Want to Fight U.S. Judge ' 'Agency's Enforcement Unit Expected to Recommend That Commissioners Appeal Citigroup Ruling' by JEAN EAGLESHAM And SUZANNE KAPNER - WSJ "The Securities and Exchange Commission is heading on a collision course with the federal judge who thinks the agency has been too lenient on big banks accused of misdeeds. The SEC's enforcement staff is expected to recommend to the five-person commission leading the agency that it vote to appeal last month's rejection by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff of a proposed $285 million settlement between the SEC and Citigroup Inc., according to people familiar with the situation. Rob Bennett for The Wall Street Journal The penalty against Citigroup was 'pocket change,' said Judge Jed Rakoff in his ruling. In his ruling, the New York judge denounced as "pocket change" a penalty agreed to by Citigroup as part of the settlement, claiming it was paltry compared with losses of more than $700 million suffered by investors in a $1 billion deal called Class V Funding III. . . . Another possible problem: The Manhattan federal court where Judge Rakoff sits often reviews proposed settlements by the SEC. In 2009, he threw out the agency's $33 million deal with Bank of America Corp. over disclosures made before the Charlotte, N.C., company's takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. The judge approved a revised $150 million settlement in that case, though he said it was "half-baked justice at best." . . . The vast majority of enforcement actions filed by the SEC are resolved before coming to trial. In the past year, the SEC went to trial in 19 cases, while filing a record-high 735 enforcement actions. Settlements allow the SEC to spread its limited resources among the largest number of cases, agency officials say. Judge Rakoff ruled in his Citigroup decision that firms often view settlements of serious allegations for modest penalties and no admission of wrongdoing as just a "cost of doing business." " - more - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...?mod=WSJ_article_comments#articleTabs=article and have a read of the Comments