Unless it can convince judge Jed Rakoff to accept some sort of deal to settle the Bank of America bonus matter, the SEC really has no good options. Arthur Levitt tells Bloomberg that if the SEC pursues executives, it may face challenges after conceding in filings that it lacks evidence to do so. If the agency drops the case, investigators will "look weak at a time when they're trying to look strong."

So, what choice does it have? The hearing held by Congressman Edolphus Towns is certainly complicating matters. My sense is that it would be very hard to go back and try to finger specific executives, unless new evidence has bubbled forth. It may essentially put the issue on the back-burner and wait to see if the criminal probes or the New York state AG come up with anything new. But it really has its back against the wall on this one. 

For more:
- here's the Bloomberg article

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