Tuesday's Headlines: Wall Street shows clout in Congress, again

Wall Street has once again proved its clout in Congress, New York Times' DealBook reports.

Wall Street lobbyists inserted a small provision in a bill that was recently passed, allowing banks to avoid paying for certain patents that relate to their "business methods," the article says.

"The legislation was initially introduced by Senator Charles E. Schumer, a New York Democrat, with an even narrower view: to protect the interests of his big bank constituents in a dispute with DataTreasury Corporation of Plano, Tex., a company that owns dozens of patents for processing digital copies of checks," Dealbook explains.

It says banks were eager to see the bill pass because they have been "held hostage" in the past by patents that should have never been approved.

Other news:

Deutsche Bank under more pressure to find successor following Weber's move to UBS. [BusinessWeek]

New hedge fund disclosure rules will help SEC, not retail investors. [MarketWatch]

Top rep Silverman leaves Securities America to join Geneos. [Investment News]

Finra surveys registered reps and principals ahead of updating qualification exams. [Investment News]

Citigroup tops municipal bond underwriting tables in first half 2011. [Reuters]

Centerview Partners hires two bankers from Miller Buckfire to run restructuring and bankruptcy unit. [DealBook]

New data shows median pay jumped 23 percent in 2010 for America's top executives. [New York Times]

Goldman Sachs names bankers to revamp Japanese equity and bond underwriting, start public sector unit. [Bloomberg]

ABN Amro wants to sell Swiss private banking division. [MarketWatch]

Hundreds of bankers will lose jobs soon due to trading and investment banking downturn. [Reuters]