Fraud And The Bank

koan · Post by **koan** » Sun Aug 19, 2012 9:56 pm

I didn't put this under "Current Events" because it's not new.

The most recent is the fixing of interest rates.

LIBOR scandal

What are we supposed to do? Not put money in the bank at all?

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 12:23 am

Seems Barclays over here was up to its neck in this. At least it has cost the top wankers their jobs. Some of them, anyway.

Completely stopped watching the news during the Olympics. Haven't started again yet. Have absolutely no clue what's going on round the world! :wah:

koan · Post by **koan** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 11:51 am

Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes devoted five years to tracking the banking scandals. He was on the trail during the sub-prime mortgage collapse, through the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, did a program called Prosecuting Wall Street, and is ready to give up as he believes there will be no response and no charges of significance will ever be laid.

I hope he doesn't give up.

The program is available on CBS's youtube channel

Part 1

Part 2

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 2:36 pm

Clodhopper;1401475 wrote: Seems Barclays over here was up to its neck in this. At least it has cost the top wankers their jobs. Some of them, anyway.

Completely stopped watching the news during the Olympics. Haven't started again yet. Have absolutely no clue what's going on round the world! :wah:

You won't have seen the latest pronouncement by the Treasury Select Committee then?

They report that Bob Diamond was "highly selective with the truth" when he appeared before them - I don't know which surprises me most, a banker lying to the politicians or the politicians recognising a lie for what it is given the number of times they tell them.

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 3:45 pm

I hadn't, no. That's something I regard as very good news.

It is possible that there has been a sea change in the approach of the Select Committees. I think they have realised that some have been running rings round them and don't like it. A small but perhaps important moment, if true.

koan · Post by **koan** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 10:57 pm

Another 60 Minutes (15 minute clip) segment where the intriguing Harry Markopolos explains how the biggest Ponzi scheme in history got away with it despite numerous reports. He hung on for eight years before his hard work finally paid off.

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 2:49 am

Ouch. A depressing picture. It is quite clear that self regulation does not work; indeed that the SEC actually encourages fraud the way it apparently is.

argh. I can feel myself being pulled back to the news. Was hoping to avoid it a while longer.

Wandrin · Post by **Wandrin** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 3:46 pm

What makes me think that we have only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg with respect to banks' naughty behavior? When they got rid of the regulations in the US and banks became bank/brokerage/insurance companies and started selling bets on insurance as stocks, I thought we had seen the worst of it. Then came the shady fudged mortgages, the shady repo stuff, the derivatives, and peddling worthless stocks to customers and retirement accounts. Now it's the LIBOR mess. What else has been going on that we don't know about yet?

koan · Post by **koan** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 10:03 pm

When you think about the massive amount of money involved in white collar crime and how all that stolen money is taken out of the common wealth, resulting in child poverty and homelessness through trickle down, then see how little effort is put into apprehending the billionaire criminals... it's infuriating. It's not just a lack of effort either, the government seems to be empowering them.