Federal Reserve Admits To Keeping Bankers Out Of Jail

[kpete]

Federal Reserve Admits To Keeping Bankers Out Of Jail
by Richard Lyon


Ever since the financial crash of 2008 there has been a running controversy about the criminal responsibility of the executives of the major banks who had carefully constructed the house of cards that suddenly collapsed creating a chain reaction that created a global recession. When one looked at their elaborate schemes to create and peddle exotic securities that rested on junk debt, it was pretty difficult to swallow the line that nobody could have known that this would happen.

The Fed Just Acknowledged Its Too Big To Jail Policy

The federal government until recently shielded big banks from criminal prosecution out of concern that convictions may damage the financial system, a top Federal Reserve official said Friday, explicitly acknowledging a policy long denied by the Obama administration.

The admission came during a tense exchange between William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) at a Senate Banking Committee hearing meant to explore the cozy relations between federal regulators and the banks they supervise.

Until May, large financial institutions investigated for wrongdoing had dodged criminal prosecution under the Obama administration, despite evidence from federal regulators and prosecutors showing that big banks had, for instance, laundered money for suspected terrorists and drug cartels; manipulated interest rate benchmarks; rigged various commodities markets; mislead investors in mortgage-linked securities; duped homeowners into taking out expensive mortgages; manipulated municipal debt markets; and broke state and federal rules when attempting to seize homes after borrowers fell behind on their payments, a scandal that became known as "robosigning."

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have long suspected that federal prosecutors didn’t pursue guilty pleas because they were afraid the consequences -- a potential unraveling of a giant bank -- would endanger the global economy. Attorney General Eric Holder suggested that was the case in March 2013, but quickly walked back his comments after a public outcry.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/21/fed-too-big-to-jail_n_6201476.html
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/22/1346820/-Federal-Reserve-Admits-To-Keeping-Bankers-Out-Of-Jail#

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Equal justice under the law.

In Paris, an old man is arrested for stealing food out of a garbage can. A tourist asks the cop "How can you arrest a poor man for stealing food to eat?" The French cop answers, "The law is just, monsieur. If I saw a rich man stealing food from a garbage can to eat, I would arrest him too." Old French Socialist joke on the justice of France.

[Electric Monk]

2. It would seem the lesson here is: Better to steal a hundred million dollars than a hundred dollars.

nt

[Hugin]

5. um... bingo.

Better to sacrifice confidence in Justice than to piss off the money.

So, just as I predicted... It was a failure all around.

[BrotherIvan]

3. But but but FINES!

They paid some fines! Isn't that the greatest? I mean, sure, they can write it off on their taxes (which they don't pay anyways) but sheesh, I mean, what do you want??

[OnyxCollie]

4. Gee, you'd never know it

if you waded through the Eric Holder circle jerk that was started earlier:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5855053

Yeah, prison time for bankers won't solve anything, and anyone who thinks otherwise is just out for blood.

The WH interns are earning that pizza tonight!

[MisterP]

6. the most anti-bank, anti-Wall Street President ever! kneel in weeping adoration! nt