New York Times, Gretchen Morgenson Applaud British, Issue Challenge To American Regulators Over LIBOR Scandal
The New York Times and its outstanding financial reporter, Gretchen Morgenson, have published an important article about the LIBOR banking crisis, challenging American regulators to take this mess as seriously as the British appear to be.
We found out just over a week ago that Barclays CEO Bob Diamond, as well as several other senior Barclays officials, were pushed out of their jobs after Bank of England chief Mervyn King trained a mysterious Vaderesque power on them, impelling them to leave with an “inflection of the eyebrows.”
Morgenson’s piece from Saturday, “The British, at Least, Are Getting Tough,” wonders aloud why American regulators – Ben Bernanke, cough, cough – don’t take a similarly stern approach with our own corrupt bank officials. First, she summarizes what seems to be the mindset of American officials:
“Dirty clean” versus “clean clean” pretty much sums up Wall Street’s view of cheating. If everybody does it, nobody should be held accountable if caught. Alas, many United States regulators and prosecutors seem to have bought into this argument.
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We should be taking action right now against all these people.Seems to me that America is out of the know and far to comfortable with where everything stands.It’s time to take action not sit on the sidelines.
Gretchen is my hero. Thanks for posting these interviews with her,including the older ones. She uses the word “reform” often; perhaps we need a Reform Party, a party whose candidates have no Wall Street backgtround or associations and are serious about ending TBTF. I liked her line about the banks “seeking to privatize profits and socialize losses.” That describes TARPS really well! The banks end up with bonuses, their stocks goup, and taxpayers are stuck with the losses.
Everyone has a pretty good idea why American regulators aren’t “getting tough.” I prefer Abigail Field’s take on why regulators outright aid and abet this massive criminal conspiracy. If the British are getting “tough” on their mobsters, why no immediate arrests as would be the case for common street thieves? Also, US Banks are heavily involved, which Gretchen doesn’t explicitly allege. We know our Justice Department’s track record with these fine folk. There’s enough to book all of ’em right now!