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Bankers may yet face federal prosecution for their roles in the 2008 financial crisis, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said today.

We have ongoing investigations that may perhaps produce individual prosecutions, Holder said, defending the Justice Departments handling of probes that have resulted in large financial settlements but few criminal prosecutions.

Holder announced his retirement last month, saying he would remain in the job until a new attorney general is nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate. He said he expects that process to take until the beginning of next year.

My hope would be the Senate would take up that nomination the same way that mine was and, by early February, we have a new attorney general, he said.

Obamas preferred candidate, former White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, has taken herself out of the running, in part because shed face a difficult confirmation process. Other possible picks include U.S. Solicitor General Don Verrilli, Labor Secretary Tom Perez, and Loretta Lynch, the U.S. Attorney based in Brooklyn, New York. That list might grow after Nov. 4 if a qualified lawmaker loses his or her re-election campaign.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters today that the door does continue to be open to the possibility that this person could be nominated shortly after the election and we would call on the Senate to act on that quickly.

Holders comments came in a question-and-answer session in Washington, sponsored by the Atlantic and the Aspen Institute, that delved into his almost six-year tenure as attorney general, racial strife, national security matters and even the movies: the 63-year-old would like Denzel Washington to play him in a film.

Some of Holders strongest comments came in response to a question by Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post about whether he had been tough enough on banks and why there had not been any criminal prosecutions of bankers involved in the financial collapse.

The attorney general cited record settlements -- at least $37 billion in the last year -- that were used to help homeowners who were hurt in the 2008 financial collapse.

Holders Justice Department is still fighting criticism it didnt do enough to punish Wall Street executives who helped fuel the 2008 financial crisis. While regulators and prosecutors have repeatedly cited the need to sanction individuals, executives have been largely absent from recent major cases.

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Holder Says Bankers May Yet Face Prosecution for 2008