We have been told that financial institutions are artificial persons under the law, but they can’t be put in jail. Fine, but financial institutions are controlled by individuals who engaged in criminal activities and they can be put in jail. Witness the life term of Bernie Madoff for allegedly stealing billions from investors in a Ponzi scheme. So, what about the Ponzi scheme run by the largest financial institutions who created synthetic securities and sold them among themselves at ever higher prices?
But, of course, the heads of these large financial institutions are the movers-and-shakers in the nation, the special interests who kick-back a portion of their ill-gotten gains to politicians and direct their lobbying activities at corrupt politicians who can be bought or coerced.
Holder: Big banks' size complicates prosecution efforts
Attorney General Eric Holder suggested Wednesday that some financial institutions have become too large and are escaping full-fledged prosecution as a result.
Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Holder told lawmakers that he is concerned that some institutions have become so massive and influential that bringing criminal charges against them could imperil the financial system and the broader economy. His remarks come as a growing number of lawmakers have suggested that big banks are, effectively, "too big to jail."
"I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if you do prosecute, if you do bring a criminal charge, it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy," he said. "And I think that is a function of the fact that some of these institutions have become too large."
He suggested that prior attempts to bring enforcement against banks may have been stifled by their outsize influence, saying it has an "inhibiting influence ... on our ability to bring resolutions that I think would be more appropriate." The Justice Department is required to consider the economic impact of its actions, but Holder's comments should bolster an increasingly vocal group of lawmakers that argue the nation's biggest banks have gotten too large and need to be curbed. <Source: Holder: Big banks' size complicates prosecution efforts - The Hill's On The Money>
I call bullshit!
No individual is above the law, not the President of the United States, not the Attorney General and certainly not the executives of financial institutions. Truth-be-told, the expertise to run a financial institution’s operations lies well below the executive suite and the actual day-to-day events are tended to by a cadre of middle-management bureaucrats. Bureaucrats who take their direction from the top. So, even loping off the heads of a financial institution would not significantly impair its operations. When an executive dies or is forced out by the board of directors, it is amazing that someone is well-qualified to take their place. When General Electric’s legendary Jack Welch retired, in stepped Jeffrey Immelt and GE pursued a different course of action – but did not crumble or impact the national economy.
In most cases, these financial institutions are the custodians of their depositor’s funds – and there is no shortage of mid-tier financial institutions which would grow a little larger, but remain under some mythical “too big to fail” rubric promoted by the politicians and their special interest friends.
Bottom line …
George Bush’s Attorney General did not prosecute Roland Arnall of Ameriquest to jail for egregious predatory lending, he just made him pony up $325 million in fines to various state attorneys general before nominating him as an Ambassador to the Netherlands. Barack Obama’s Attorney General did not prosecute Jon Corzine for allowing $1.2 billion dollars – much of it in customer’s accounts forbidden to MF Global – to go missing. Surely someone gave the orders to transfer those funds out of customer’s accounts and a decision of that magnitude could only be made at the executive level.
No, what we are hearing is “too big to fail – to big to prosecute” without increasing the systemic risk to our economy. So the people’s funds will continue to be plundered by politically-connected freebooters and financial institutions will continue to use its shareholder’s and depositor’s funds to pay “record fines” without admitting nor denying the allegations.
Folks, the key to an honest system is to have honest players representing “We the People.” Not socialist and communist sympathizers who are willingly allowing the financial miscreants to loot our treasury and bankrupt our nation to bring about political change.
-- steve
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