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Are Big Banks Criminal Enterprises?

George Washington's picture




 

Here are some recent improprieties by the big banks:

  • Engaging in mafia-style big-rigging fraud against local governments. See this, this and this
  • Shaving 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
  • Pledging 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
  • Committing massive fraud in an $800 trillion dollar market which effects everything from mortgages, student loans, small business loans and city financing
  • Pushing 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 “Wash Trades” to manipulate asset prices. See this, this and this
  • Participating in various Ponzi schemes. See this, this and this
  • Bribing and bullying ratings agencies to inflate ratings on their risky investments

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.

But at least the big banks do good things for society, like loaning money to Main Street, right?

Actually:

  • The big banks have slashed lending since they were bailed out by taxpayers … while smaller banks have increased lending. See this, this and this
 

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Wed, 07/18/2012 - 14:42 | 2629345 hooligan2009
hooligan2009's picture

I think you missed one George.

Not paying taxes on profits made either from tax payer funded trades (banks borrowing from the Fed at close to zero and buying the 10 year down to 1.5% today from 4.0% in June 2009 for a nice fat profit of c. 8 years duration times 2.5% drop in yields = 20% leveraged by pre-Basle 3 levels of 25 times) or from being able to carry forward losses made on every shitty piece of paper on their portfolios, forever.

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 14:39 | 2629327 MrBoompi
MrBoompi's picture

Yes, but to achieve this status they had to include payoffs (oops I mean campaign funds)to politicians in order to write whatever laws they could in their favor or buy the protection from prosecution.

It's almost as if the word went out they were allowed to use any method necessary to bring capital or collateral into the banking system, including fraud of almost every conceivable shape and size.

 

 

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 14:39 | 2629322 Shizzmoney
Shizzmoney's picture

Do bears shit in the woods (while buying gold and silver)?

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 14:46 | 2629369 Cast Iron Skillet
Cast Iron Skillet's picture

they hide their shit in the woods (gold & silver)

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 18:51 | 2630052 hidingfromhelis
hidingfromhelis's picture

The ones that are smarter than average may even have boating accidents.

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 14:39 | 2629320 ddtuttle
ddtuttle's picture

There's no such thing as Marxism, Facism, Captialism, Monarchism, Communism, Socialism etc. These are just fariy tales to keep us oblivious to the real "ism": Mafia-ism.

The same as it ever was ...

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 06:07 | 2630998 Bringin It
Bringin It's picture

Bada Bing!

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 14:37 | 2629307 pashley1411
pashley1411's picture

Just an ancedote.   My niece, working for BoA in CA, regularly refers to her employer as criminals.    

Might want to start thinking about what a post-big-bank America would look like.   At least the air would be cleaner.

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 06:49 | 2631028 neidermeyer
neidermeyer's picture

Post big bank America would look the same ,, my local credit union issues Visa and MC credit cards , makes mortgage , business and car loans and connects via worldwide data networks , I could live very very well with BAC , JPM and WFC dead , along with zombie super-regionals like SunTrust ...

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 14:34 | 2629289 DaveyJones
DaveyJones's picture

damn it scotty, we need more power

they're more like Klingons

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 14:46 | 2629364 Cast Iron Skillet
Cast Iron Skillet's picture

Species 8472

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 16:09 | 2629724 Badabing
Badabing's picture

DEN OF VIPERS!

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 19:33 | 2630112 rocker
rocker's picture

Was it not the Rockerfeller's who said we should have controlled the internet so the sheeple would not know.

Too late now.

This is you best post yet  Mr. George Washington.         Great Stuff......Thanks

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 00:49 | 2630815 Vic Vinegar
Vic Vinegar's picture

Agree that G-Washington does good work.  But was this quote offered by Rockefeller?  Seems unlikely.  And even if it were, what of it?  Does the internet culminate in us patting George on the back or something more?

Now if you'll excuse me...America's Got Talent is wrapping up so I must get back to that...no sarc here.

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 01:13 | 2630844 engineertheeconomy
engineertheeconomy's picture

Dude...

Big Banks...

Did you leave out something?

The entire Government, the  Armed Forces, all the cops, all the politicians, judges, lawyers, corporations, central bankers...

ALL CRIMINALS

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 01:29 | 2630854 The Alarmist
The Alarmist's picture

Does a bear shit in the woods?

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 01:41 | 2630862 Vic Vinegar
Vic Vinegar's picture

Perhaps I need to find another hobby because in trying to answer the question I noted above: And even if it were, what of it? I have no better answer than to buy physcial.

Most folks in the military, police, in corps and yes - even in government - are not criminals.  They are good people.  Sure some are corrupt, but through which lens do you want to view the world? 

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 04:28 | 2630952 Disenchanted
Disenchanted's picture

 

 

 

Good people just following their orders, right?

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 06:05 | 2630997 Bringin It
Bringin It's picture

Little Eichmann's everywhere.  Left, right and center.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!