5 big banks fined for rigging global economy

[MongGrel]

You do? I never hear about it. The differential in rates was small and overall, a wash, to the global economy. Relative to what was going on then it's puny.

Not that it shouldn't be punished, but overall this isn't that big of a deal. Compared to what Angelo Mozillo did it was nothing.

Your wife must not work with investment bankers then.

 

[LegendKiller]

Your wife must not work with investment bankers then.

I was an investment banker. I now work at one of the largest money managers in the world. I talk to bankers, traders, and sales people all day, every day.

 

[nickqt]

Honestly I think we all agree Bernie Madoff should be in jail, what did he do that is so different than this?

Simple.

The difference is that while the banks were ripping off the rabble, Bernie Maddof was ripping off other oligarchs.

F with the rich, you go to jail.

Rip off a tens of millions of the rabble, you get a slap on the wrist before a nice fat bonus.

It ain't rocket science.

 

[Pipeline 1010]

Simple.

The difference is that while the banks were ripping off the rabble, Bernie Maddof was ripping off other oligarchs.

F with the rich, you go to jail.

Rip off a tens of millions of the rabble, you get a slap on the wrist before a nice fat bonus.

It ain't rocket science.

Bravo! You nailed it, sir.

Everyone else trying to argue for why these people should NOT be in jail is either one of these people or one of their useful idiots.

 

[trenchfoot]

Simple.

The difference is that while the banks were ripping off the rabble, Bernie Maddof was ripping off other oligarchs.

F with the rich, you go to jail.

Rip off a tens of millions of the rabble, you get a slap on the wrist before a nice fat bonus.

It ain't rocket science.

The enemy of the very rich are other rich folks. They eat their own for survival. The peasants, well, they're harmless irritating creatures that need to be kept in their place so the rich can suck them dry of blood money and other such conveniences.

 

[MongGrel]

I was an investment banker. I now work at one of the largest money managers in the world. I talk to bankers, traders, and sales people all day, every day.

You know a lot more about it than I then.

The results are still the same.

Simple.

The difference is that while the banks were ripping off the rabble, Bernie Maddof was ripping off other oligarchs.

F with the rich, you go to jail.

Rip off a tens of millions of the rabble, you get a slap on the wrist before a nice fat bonus.

It ain't rocket science.

 

[werepossum]

Exactly if we started treating bankers like drug dealers we'd see change. Jail a few for crimes, confiscate their assets, then bar them from working in the industry or profiting from their crime. We would see a change.
Honestly I think we all agree Bernie Madoff should be in jail, what did he do that is so different than this?

Yep. If a corporation admittedly did something intentionally criminal, then law enforcement has a duty to determine who exactly ordered and/or permitted that illegal action and prosecute those people. If that cannot be determined, then the entire corporation is at fault and should be liquidated. Replace "too big to fail" with "too bad to live".

Very much this but imho it doesn't go far enough. Some of the offenders in question are multiple criminal offenders. If they were people the 3 strike rule would apply and they would likely be in jail for life without the possibility of parole. After a corporation shows a pattern of continuously and blatantly breaking the law their charters should be revoked.

With that said, I'd be absurdly happy with just handcuffs but that has been proven over and over that it ain't going to happen. Those assholes are above the law and they know it. All these fines are is a cost of doing business, they rarely equate to a portion of the gains they made from their illegal activities. The .gov is actually incentivizing these activities by allowing them to remain profitable and no personal accountability.

If such people are convicted three times of felonies, I'd be happy with life without parole. Only difficult thing might be determining what truly was intentional versus what was due to the labyrinthine and ever-shifting Federal regulations.

Simple.

The difference is that while the banks were ripping off the rabble, Bernie Maddof was ripping off other oligarchs.

F with the rich, you go to jail.

Rip off a tens of millions of the rabble, you get a slap on the wrist before a nice fat bonus.

It ain't rocket science.

There is a point to that, but many of the investors regularly ripped off by illegal collusion are fairly wealthy, and many of Madoff's victims were of fairly modest means.

 

[LegendKiller]

You know a lot more about it than I then.

The results are still the same.

The results are not the same. The LIBOR "rigging" thing is a Bread and Circus to avoid prosecuting the truly guilty.

 

[werepossum]

The results are not the same. The LIBOR "rigging" thing is a Bread and Circus to avoid prosecuting the truly guilty.

Maybe, but the underlying principle is the same, even if the individuals prosecuted are not those ultimately responsible. That's how law enforcement works, you go as high up the chain of command as you can find evidence. There's something to be said for going after the soldiers as well - if they are criminally prosecuted, there will be fewer (and less sophisticated) people willing to commit blatantly illegal acts. And, people willing to take responsibility when there is no individual criminal liability are much more likely to turn on the true culprits if facing jail time.

 

[LegendKiller]

Maybe, but the underlying principle is the same, even if the individuals prosecuted are not those ultimately responsible. That's how law enforcement works, you go as high up the chain of command as you can find evidence. There's something to be said for going after the soldiers as well - if they are criminally prosecuted, there will be fewer (and less sophisticated) people willing to commit blatantly illegal acts. And, people willing to take responsibility when there is no individual criminal liability are much more likely to turn on the true culprits if facing jail time.

lol - the "evidence" is prolific of crimes far greater than this. Do you really think they can't find something major on Angelo Mozilo, or the heads of Fannie and Freddie, or the CEOs of Goldman, Lehman, Soloman, among others?

Really?

They know where to look, but they won't look. Too Big To Fail and all of that.

It's a nice scheme. Make the banks too big, do a bunch of naughty shit, warn them that they can't prosecute you without taking the system down (the one you built too big), get away with it. Rinse, repeat.