Business News
SACRAMENTO – Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced a $125 million settlement with the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, or RBS, an international financial conglomerate, over misrepresentations about residential mortgage-backed securities sold to California's public employee and teacher pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTRS, respectively.
Mortgage-backed securities are complex investments which include thousands of mortgage loans of potentially varying quality, where the buyer typically relies on assurances that the loans have been carefully screened and are not too risky.
An investigation conducted by the Attorney General's Office found that the descriptions of these mortgage-backed securities to investors failed to accurately disclose the true characteristics of many of the underlying mortgages, and that due diligence to remove poor quality loans from the investments was not adequately performed.
RBS was aware of the misrepresentations but failed to correct them. This resulted in millions in losses to CalPERS and CalSTRS.
“RBS decided to mislead California’s pension funds in order to line its own pockets – plain and simple,” said Attorney General Becerra.
He said the settlement returns to the pension funds, which hardworking Californians rely on upon retirement, money that RBS wrongfully took from them.
The settlement with RBS is the latest action by the California Department of Justice to recover losses suffered during the financial crisis and to hold accountable the institutions that contributed to it.
To date, the Attorney General's Office has recovered more than $1 billion for California’s public pension funds.
Mortgage-backed securities are complex investments which include thousands of mortgage loans of potentially varying quality, where the buyer typically relies on assurances that the loans have been carefully screened and are not too risky.
An investigation conducted by the Attorney General's Office found that the descriptions of these mortgage-backed securities to investors failed to accurately disclose the true characteristics of many of the underlying mortgages, and that due diligence to remove poor quality loans from the investments was not adequately performed.
RBS was aware of the misrepresentations but failed to correct them. This resulted in millions in losses to CalPERS and CalSTRS.
“RBS decided to mislead California’s pension funds in order to line its own pockets – plain and simple,” said Attorney General Becerra.
He said the settlement returns to the pension funds, which hardworking Californians rely on upon retirement, money that RBS wrongfully took from them.
The settlement with RBS is the latest action by the California Department of Justice to recover losses suffered during the financial crisis and to hold accountable the institutions that contributed to it.
To date, the Attorney General's Office has recovered more than $1 billion for California’s public pension funds.
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SANTA ROSA, Calif. – Tawny Tesconi has been hired as the interim executive director for Sonoma County Farm Bureau.
Tesconi is a Sonoma County native with strong ties to the local agriculture industry. As a student, she was active in both 4-H and FFA, living on a small family farm in west county. Today, she lives on the same family farm with her husband.
"The board and I are excited to bring Tawny onto the Farm Bureau team," said Steve Dutton, president of Sonoma County Farm Bureau. "With Tawny being born and raised in Sonoma County and having extensive experience working in the county, we felt like she would be a great fit. We're looking forward to her positive leadership directing Farm Bureau for the near future."
Tesconi had a successful 30 year-career in fair management and public service, and in December of 2015 she retired as director of general services of Sonoma County to start her fair services company Tesconi Event And Management Solutions.
Prior to working as the general services director, she was the Sonoma County Fair manager for eight years.
Under her leadership, the Sonoma County Fair underwent an extensive branding process for the event facility, expanded racing and started a foundation to build the $3 million Ag Education Center, Richard & Saralee's Barn.
During her career in the fair industry, Tesconi also served as the CEO of the Sonoma-Marin Fair, CEO of the Calaveras County Fair and assistant manager at the Solano County Fair.
In 2007, Tesconi received the Spirit of Sonoma Award, nominated by Sonoma County Farm Bureau for her commitment and passion for local agriculture.
She is a past president of the Western Fairs Association and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2012. She is also a past president and current treasurer of the Petaluma Rotary Club.
Tesconi holds a bachelor's degree in managerial economics from University of California, Davis. She was a graduate of the 1987 class of the WFA Management Training Program and has her Certified Fair Executive Standing from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions.
"As a longtime Sonoma County agriculturalist, I have always appreciated the work that Sonoma County Farm Bureau does for its members. Farm Bureau is the voice of agriculture in our county and our local farmers are cutting edge on issues such as labor, sustainability and marketing,” she said. “I am excited to be part of such a highly regarded, dynamic organization and look forward to working with the dedicated board and staff at Sonoma County Farm Bureau."
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