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Attorney General Eric Holder said he has asked U.S. Attorneys to review cases to see if criminal or civil charges can be brought against individuals at banks.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) Bring criminal cases against bank bad guys. That is what outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder is requesting of his successor.

Responding to questions following a speech at the National Press Club, Holder said he has asked U.S. Attorneys to review cases related to residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and to determine if criminal or civil cases against individuals can be made.

Complex securitized residential mortgage bonds, underwritten by Wall Street firms, were at the heart of the 2008 financial crisis. Although some of the nations biggest banks have been dinged by billion-dollar fines, criminal charges against individuals have been almost nonexistent.

Ive asked the U.S. Attorneys who have made those cases and who are still involved in these RMBS cases, over the next 90 days to look at their cases and to try to develop cases against individuals and to report back, he said.

Holder has previously been criticized for not going after financial institutions. In 2013, Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has questioned Holder about why the Justice Department had chosen not to prosecute financial institutions during his tenure.

But Holder defended the Justice Departments methods in regard to financial institutions.

But it is to the extent that individuals have not been prosecuted, people should understand it is not for lack of trying, he said, adding that these are cases people bring to the Justice Department.

Holder plans on retiring upon the Senate confirmation of Loretta Lynch, President Barack Obamas choice to succeed him.

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