Federal regulators yesterday accused Capital One and two of its executives of understating millions of dollars in auto loan losses suffered during the financial crisis, the New York Times DealBook blog reported yesterday. In the case of Capital One’s auto-lending business, according to the SEC, the bank "materially understated" its loan loss expenses and "failed to maintain effective internal controls." The SEC contended that Peter A. Schnall, who was Capital One's chief risk officer at the time, and David A. LaGassa, a lower-level executive, failed to prevent the improper statements.
