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Balloon ready to pop, Bank, Bank of America, Banking, Economy, Finance, Financial Collapse, Late-2000s financial crisis, Loan, Money laundering, Nazism, President of the United States, TBTF, Thieves, Too Big To Fail
So you think the big banks do good things for society, like loan money to Main Street, right?
Ha!
Actually…big banks no longer do very much traditional banking. Most of their business is from financial speculation. For example, less than 10% of Bank of America’s assets come from traditional banking deposits. Instead, they are mainly engaged in financial speculation and derivatives. (and see this)
Since they were bailed out by taxpayers, the big banks have slashed lending … while smaller banks have increased lending. See this, this and this.
According to Thomas Jefferson, “Banking Institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies”
To prove Jefferson’s point that there is NOTHING you can trust about big banking, the “Too Big To Fail” gang is guilty of:
- Financing illegal arms deals, and are funding the manufacture of cluster bombs (and see this and this) and other arms which are banned in most of the world
- They launched a coup against the President of the United States
- Handled money for rogue military operations
- Laundered money for drug cartels. See this, this, this and this (indeed, drug dealers kept the banking system afloat during the depths of the 2008 financial crisis)
- Shaved money off of virtually every pension transaction they handled over the course of decades, stealing collectively billions of dollars from pensions worldwide. Details here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here
- Artificially suppressed gold prices
- Charged “storage fees” to store gold bullion … without even buying or storing any gold . And raided allocated gold accounts
- Committed massive and pervasive fraud both when they initiated mortgage loans and when they foreclosed on them (and see this)
- They pledged the same mortgage multiple times to different buyers. See this, this, this, this and this. This would be like selling your car, and collecting money from 10 different buyers for the same car
- Cheated homeowners by gaming laws meant to protect people from unfair foreclosure
- Committed massive fraud in an $800 trillion dollar market which effects everything from mortgages, student loans, small business loans and city financing
- Manipulated the hundred trillion dollar derivatives market
- Engaged in insider trading of the most important financial information
- Pushed investments which they knew were terrible, and then betting against the same investments to make money for themselves. See this, this, this, this and this
- Engaging in unlawful “frontrunning” to manipulate markets. See this, this, this, this, this and this
- Charged veterans unlawful mortgage fees
- Helped the richest to illegally hide assets
- Cooked their books (and see this)
The executives of the big banks invariably pretend that the hanky-panky was only committed by a couple of low-level rogue employees. But studies show that most of the fraud is committed by management.
Indeed, one of the world’s top fraud experts – professor of law and economics, and former senior S&L regulator Bill Black – says that most financial fraud is “control fraud”, where the people who own the banks are the ones who implement systemic fraud. See this, this and this.
- A huge portion of the banks’ profits comes from taxpayer bailouts. For example, 77% of JP Morgan’s net income comes from taxpayer subsidies
- The big banks are literally killing the economy … and waging war on the people of the world
- And our democracy and republican form of government as well
Related articles
- 25 Mind-Blowing Crimes Committed By Big Banks (dprogram.net)
- Stunning Crimes of the Big Banks: Worse than Your Wildest Imagination (washingtonsblog.com)
- Money Laundering Control Act Is it As Good As It Seems (acefinance.me)
- General Conspiracies – Re: Stunning Crimes of the Big Banks: Worse than…. (disclose.tv)
- Are Big Banks Criminal Enterprises? (ritholtz.com)
- BuzzFlash on Money Laundering and Treason (seniorsforademocraticsociety.wordpress.com)
- Are Big Banks Criminal Enterprises? (washingtonsblog.com)
- How London became the money-laundering capital of the world (ianfraser.org)
Look, we agree on a lot of things, but this article is not one of them. Your populist anger has blinded you.
Aren’t you a capitalist? Speculation IS A GOOD THING. It moderates supply imbalances during low price periods and reduces them during times when things are tight. This is a basic principle of economics – a study from which, by the way, you cannot pick and choose.
I find it incredibly ironic that you call out President Obama on attacking success and then turn around and attack banks for doing what they can to make a profit. This sort of selective criticism is precisely why moderates dislike the Tea Party.
This article is nothing more than a smear job on success. It’s something I’d expect to find on the Daily Kos, lumped over with the lefties. I’ve seen better on this blog in the past and I hope I see it in the future.
I do want to add that I was discussing the “Too Big to Fail” banks…and THOSE that committed acts that were/are illegal. It isn’t JUST ME that thinks there are some among that group that deserve prosecution: http://bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/08/04/ireland-prosecution-anglo-irish-ceo-sean-fitzpatrick-sets-example-for/lkmf30mqkADMEeKTphmz5O/story.html.
My post wasn’t a rant against success. I am opposed to people doing criminal deeds and then “getting away with it” because of who they are (who they or know).
You do know that only Citigroup and AIG have yet to pay back government funds right? Everyone else has, with interest.
Those SAME banks are STILL doing the very same things that led to the the 2008 crisis. They are LEVERAGED to the hilt. Just because they are NO LONGER nationalized doesn’t mean they are solvent. Five banks account For 96% Of $250 TRILLION of all the gross OUTSTANDING US derivative exposure (consisting of Interest Rate, FX, Equity Contracts, Commodity and CDS Derivitaves).
To GET that incremental “penny of return”, their risk exposure in the derivitive market is now at a new all time high.
If somebody wants to gamble…fine…BUT, don’t ask taxpayers to indebt themselves, their children and their grandchildren to “put” the “gamblers” up (an “investment” not of the taxpayer’s CHOOSING) WHEN the gambler’s business collapses. The TBTF Banks not not only have been allowed to LEVERAGE themselves to the point where they can’t ABSORB the risks, on your own, WITHOUT GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION, they’ve grown to the point when there almost isn’t enough money in the whole WORLD to keep their doors open should they fun afoul of a “risky wind”.
Is THAT capitalism? Where citizens are forced to extend I.O.U.s to GAMBLERS against their will or without their KNOWLEDGE. Is “Too Big to Fail” a capitalist concept?
Basic banking is fine. People should be able to park their dollars and know that the government will back those dollars. BUT, the part of the money that goes for gambling??? Heck, I’d go to Las Vegas EVERY DAY, if I knew the government was going to force my fellow citizens to reimburse me for all my losses. Why would I ever put money in a CD and tie up my money for 10 years for a 1% return?
We weren’t “forced” to hand them out. We elected people who did. We had a choice in all this, remember.
“Why would I ever put money in a CD and tie up my money for 10 years for a 1% return?” – because you don’t like big banks? Nobody is obligated to justify how you save your money.
We are going to have to agree to disagree. It is my opinion, that bailing out the TBTF banks represents everything capitalism shouldn’t be. FAILURE and INCOMPETENCE were rewarded (or at least the Federal Reserve had the bank’s backs).
Last week, Mitt Romney pledged NOT to do QE3 if he is elected president. Which I fully support.
As for American citizens electing people who “weren’t forced” to do the bailouts…”While our elected representatives were kept “BUSY” squabbling over the $700 Billion dollar banking TARP”…those SAME ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES HAD NO IDEA ABOUT THE up-to $16 TRILLION that was being passed out by the federal reserve…even to foreign banks.
NOBODY…NOT A SINGLE ELECTED OFFICIAL OR TAXPAYER had ANY INPUT on THAT. (Or at least NO elected official “has admitted” being “in on it”.)
(Sources for the $16 TRILLION HANDOUT: Gerald A. Hanweck, a former Fed economist, now a finance professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, reporters: Phil Kuntz in New York at pkuntz1@bloomberg.net and Bob Ivry in New York at bivry@bloomberg.net as well as Gary Putka at gputka@bloomberg.net.)
If the people in congress don’t want to control the fed, that’s their decision and one the American people voted on. But I think we can agree to disagree.
Also, all that money earned from derivatives and speculation goes the consumer in terms of a higher interest rate. That’s good for savers.
The people that invest in stocks and derivitives–which should be considered “risky” investments, thus the higher returns–LOVE the opportunity of being able to take big risks with the Central Banks “on call”…at a moments notice. At least that is the way things went after the 2008 crisis.
Savers, like my mom, who lived through the depression, can’t bring themselves to believe that such a thing as a GOVERNMENT THAT WOULD REWARD “LOSING BETS” exists, so they stick to their CDs. The SAVERS, are HURTING and being punished for their prudence.
If you’re not in some kind of stock or bond market, you’re losing money – the interest rates are belong inflation right now thanks to Mr. Bernanke. Also, I bet your mom has more than just cash in a savings account – do some more digging and you’ll find she’s probably into some “risky” trades as well.
Hi, sorry if I offended you. Do you mind if I ask if you are a banker or associated with the financial industry? I’m going to admit I personally deal with a Credit Union and was very much FOR Jon Huntsman’s plan to break up the Too Big to Fails. We spent trillions keeping the TBTF banks propped up and for what? Is the country more financially secure? Do you think that Moodys and the other rating agencies REALLY didn’t know that the products they were giving the stamp of approval to as AAA weren’t subpar?
People who were nobodies knew that housing was going down before 2008. Think Dick Fuld at Lehman and all the guys at Goldman Sachs that were unloading Mortgage Backed Securities like crazy to the Eurozone banks didn’t know what they were doing?
You bet I am a capitalist. BUT, just because somebody is a big-wig banker with a herd of lawyers doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be held JUST AS ACCOUNTABLE for wrongdoing, as the burgler who breaks into my house.
If you have evidence that what I wrote about the “banks” isn’t true, show me what I misunderstood.
I’m not objecting to ANYONE being successful. But when the success is achieved by acts like selling the same Mortgage “multiple times”, insider trading or ANY other illegal behavior…hey…a crook is a crook.
There is no incentive for wall street executives to look out FOR THEIR CLIENTS if they can lose $6 billion in bad investments and still walk away with million dollar bonuses.
That is why I FEEL SAFER with credit unions and recommend them to people I care about. They are locally owned and non-profit. The profits go back into the bank instead of the pockets of those who were irresponsible OR WORSE.
Anyway. I do appreciate your response and PLEASE feel free to disagree with me anytime.