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Only THREE, yes THREE!!!! US banks would be involved, and the degree that they may have been involved in rate manipulation is under investigation.
Your idea of widespread seems to be very broad indeed.
AND once again, does the Secretary of the Treasury have any, any, any authority over foreign banking, banking consortiums, associations, etc?
Please explain how. In fact, since you are such an expert, why not explain exactly what the job of the Secretary of the Treasury actually is. Excluding whistleblower, which you've already stated isn't his job.
Only THREE, yes THREE!!!! US banks would be involved, and the degree that they may have been involved in rate manipulation is under investigation.
Good, we have got past the point that there is nothing Geithner can do. Now lets see if he does. Here is my prediction. He is going to come out and say that something like this is very hard to prove and would be too costly to prosecute.
Good, we have got past the point that there is nothing Geithner can do. Now lets see if he does. Here is my prediction. He is going to come out and say that something like this is very hard to prove and would be too costly to prosecute.
My prediction, the investigation will be ongoing for years, and eventually the banks will be fined.
It's a serious regulatory concern, but the stickler about this manipulation is that the banks involved were working to keep the interest rate low. And the impact that LIBOR has is that it's a benchmark used to help determine other interest rates. If they worked to keep interest rates on consumer loans, consumer credit and mortgages low, then you'll be hard-pressed to find individuals who were hurt by this manipulation. Who was hurt? Other banks and derivatives traders. And the sympathy for big banks and derivatives traders is mighty low right now.
My prediction, the investigation will be ongoing for years, and eventually the banks will be fined.
A slap on the wrist at most. A punishment the banks are perfectly willing to accept.
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It's a serious regulatory concern, but the stickler about this manipulation is that the banks involved were working to keep the interest rate low. And the impact that LIBOR has is that it's a benchmark used to help determine other interest rates. If they worked to keep interest rates on consumer loans, consumer credit and mortgages low, then you'll be hard-pressed to find individuals who were hurt by this manipulation. Who was hurt? Other banks and derivatives traders. And the sympathy for big banks and derivatives traders is mighty low right now.
We all were hurt. Each and every one of us in the continued chipping away of faith in the banking system.
A slap on the wrist at most. A punishment the banks are perfectly willing to accept.
We all were hurt. Each and every one of us in the continued chipping away of faith in the banking system.
If you had faith left by the time this scandal surfaced, you are a faithful person indeed. I remember when Greenspan was Shocked, Shocked I Tell You! that in the face of deregulation the banking industry went for short-term profits rather than long-term health. He expected an industry that revolves around greed to behave with foresight and thoughtful planning.
The industry revolves around greed. Rationality requires that observers outside the system understand that, and understand that regulation is about maintaining stability and long-term health of the economy. People inside the industry will work to maximize their profits, even when that means finding ways around regulation. It's the regulators' job to prevent them from finding ways around regulation.
Geithner, when he alerted the regulators to the problem, had a perfectly reasonable expectation that his memo would be acted upon. The problem was two-fold. First the mindset, too big to fail was resonating in the halls of the industry, the halls of regulators and the halls of government, which stifled the appropriate response that the regulators should have had to the problem. And the second problem was that regulators, both in the United States and England are understaffed and underfunded. Think Madoff and the SEC. The SEC sent inexperienced examiners to Madoff's office, where they were intimidated and actually refused access. Regulators need TEETH.
If you had faith left by the time this scandal surfaced, you are a faithful person indeed. I remember when Greenspan was Shocked, Shocked I Tell You! that in the face of deregulation the banking industry went for short-term profits rather than long-term health. He expected an industry that revolves around greed to behave with foresight and thoughtful planning.
I find it funny that people still seek him out for his opinion on financial issues.
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The industry revolves around greed. Rationality requires that observers outside the system understand that, and understand that regulation is about maintaining stability and long-term health of the economy. People inside the industry will work to maximize their profits, even when that means finding ways around regulation. It's the regulators' job to prevent them from finding ways around regulation.
Well, that's the idea anyway.
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Geithner, when he alerted the regulators to the problem, had a perfectly reasonable expectation that his memo would be acted upon. The problem was two-fold. First the mindset, too big to fail was resonating in the halls of the industry, the halls of regulators and the halls of government, which stifled the appropriate response that the regulators should have had to the problem. And the second problem was that regulators, both in the United States and England are understaffed and underfunded. Think Madoff and the SEC. The SEC sent inexperienced examiners to Madoff's office, where they were intimidated and actually refused access. Regulators need TEETH.
What was done with Libor appears to be outright fraud. The government has the resources to address fraud when it wants to. Such as Enron. The S&L mess. You can come to your own conclusions as to why it is but the government has absolutely no desire to enforce their regulations with our current financial mess.
The US Gov has slowly Nationalizing the Financial Industry by taking over banks, this article gives the details of how and why this has been taking place.
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An analysis of the relationships between 43,000 transnational corporations has identified a relatively small group of companies, mainly banks, with disproportionate power over the global economy.
What's more, although they represented 20 per cent of global operating revenues, the 1318 appeared to collectively own through their shares the majority of the world's large blue chip and manufacturing firms - the "real" economy - representing a further 60 per cent of global revenues.
"In effect, less than 1 per cent of the companies were able to control 40 per cent of the entire network," says Glattfelder. Most were financial institutions. The top 20 included Barclays Bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and The Goldman Sachs Group.
If you had faith left by the time this scandal surfaced, you are a faithful person indeed. I remember when Greenspan was Shocked, Shocked I Tell You! that in the face of deregulation the banking industry went for short-term profits rather than long-term health. He expected an industry that revolves around greed to behave with foresight and thoughtful planning.
The industry revolves around greed. Rationality requires that observers outside the system understand that, and understand that regulation is about maintaining stability and long-term health of the economy. People inside the industry will work to maximize their profits, even when that means finding ways around regulation. It's the regulators' job to prevent them from finding ways around regulation.
Geithner, when he alerted the regulators to the problem, had a perfectly reasonable expectation that his memo would be acted upon. The problem was two-fold. First the mindset, too big to fail was resonating in the halls of the industry, the halls of regulators and the halls of government, which stifled the appropriate response that the regulators should have had to the problem. And the second problem was that regulators, both in the United States and England are understaffed and underfunded. Think Madoff and the SEC. The SEC sent inexperienced examiners to Madoff's office, where they were intimidated and actually refused access. Regulators need TEETH.
FEDERAL BANKING AGENCY AUDIT ACT of 1978 ----------------------------------------
Federal Banking Agency Audit Act - Amends the Accounting and Auditing Act of 1950 to authorize the General Accounting Office (GAO) to conduct independent audits of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Prohibits the GAO from auditing:
(1) transactions conducted on behalf of or with foreign central banks, foreign governments, and nonprivate international financing organizations;
(2) deliberations, decisions, and actions on monetary policy matters, including discount window operations, reserves of member banks, securities credit, interest on deposits, and open market operations;
(3) transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee including transactions of the Federal Reserve System Open Market Account; and
(4) those portions of oral, written, telegraphic, or telephonic discussions and communications among or between Members of the Board of Governors, and officers and employees of the Federal Reserve System which deal with topics listed in this Act.
The GAO's teeth have been pulled out before they even get to the table.....they literally can't do anything.
Unless you are talking about independent auditors...which is basically the Fed auditing themselves.
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