Crying BabyOn January 28, 2014, Sergio Ermotti, chief executive of UBS AG, was fed up.  While visiting swanky Davos Switzerland [referred to in a New York Magazine article as “…the annual self-congratulatory kaffeeklatsch known as the World Economic Forum”] he vented. Like Howard Bealle in Network, he was ‘mad as hell and not going to take this anymore!’

What was the object of his angst?  He felt that his company was being unfairly picked on.  According to the article: Continue reading “Big Bank Bashing – Waahhh!”

dog_frisbeeA recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal (Andrew Haldane: The Banker Who Cried ‘Simplicity’) bears reading – and re-reading, and re-reading. It goes directly to the point of my recent rant post titled ‘The Volcker Rule: How Complexity Kills Good Ideas’.  Mr. Haldane is the Bank of England’s executive director for financial stability, and a master of the metaphor.  As the title of the article implies and the text confirms, Mr. Haldane believes that when it comes to the hopelessly complex rules designed to prevent bank failure and ultimately taxpayer bailouts, such as Basel III[1]  and the Volcker Rule[2], less is more. Continue reading “The Dog and the Frisbee: A New Approach To Federal Regulation”

paulvolckertotherescue_300“We supported former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker’s simple idea: Don’t let federally insured banks gamble in the securities markets. Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to stand behind Wall Street trading desks. What we can’t support is the “Volcker Rule” that was first distorted in the 2010 Dodd-Frank law and has now been grinded and twisted into 71 pages of text plus 882 more pages of explanation after three years of agency sausage-making.” ~ December 11, 2013 Wall Street Journal Opinion: ‘The Volcker Ambiguity Continue reading “The Volcker Rule: How Complexity Kills Good Ideas”

Take the Bonus and RunIntroduction. As the Big Bank scandals appear to be diminishing, I’ll admit that it’s probably time to get over the RATs (Rapers of the American Taxpayers), and move on to other more uplifting topics for this blog site. Perhaps I will…. Continue reading “Big Banks, Loan Fraud, and Moral Equivalence – Part One”

“Waaaaaa”

It’s no secret that I have little sympathy for Standard and Poors and the other ratings agencies.  Like carnival barkers at the securitization circus, S&P, Moodys and to a lesser degree Fitch, gave rosy ratings to the securitized bonds that made the Big Banks Big Money. For background on the scam, see my posts, here, here, and here. Continue reading “S&P Comes Out Swinging – Sort Of”

Background.  The Big Banks, their excesses, and the stories of their rapacious greed, are slowly receding into the rearview mirror of memory, like an Elm Street nightmare. We all know how it ended; the federal government bailed them all out to the tune of $445 billion.  Some accepted the money begrudgingly, saying they were forced to take the medicine although they weren’t really sick.[1]

Clearly, the Big Banks have suffered huge reputational damage over the last few years – and rightfully so.  But there was another player during these years that – except for those who have followed the story of the Financial Crisis – seems to have gone relatively unnoticed in the public eye; probably because the word “bank” is not found in its name.  The company is American International Group, or “AIG”.  Interestingly, the name and acronym give no hint of its core business.  It is an insurance company!  That’s right, insurance; quite possibly the world’s most boring, dry, unsexy and uninteresting profession, second only to statisticians.[2] Continue reading “AIG – Hapless Victim or Reckless Ingrate? (Part One)”

Regrettably, I cannot disclose the source that provided me with this purloined post. ~ PCQ

Lead Chief Counsel:  “OK, everyone, I think we’re ready to start.  You were emailed the agenda last week, so there should be no surprise what today’s topic is: How to convince the American public that we have the cajones to go after some of the biggest Wall Street offenders for their part in bringing about the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.  This meeting is being recorded.  Della here will transcribe it.  But remember, this is highly confidential. If I hear of anyone leaking this discussion to the press, heads will roll.  I will deny this meeting ever occurred, and claim that it was a piece of pure satire by that crafty real estate lawyer and blogger Phil Querin.” Continue reading “The Real Story Behind Justice’s Decision to Sue S&P”

“Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.”  Adapted from quote by George Santayana (1863-1952)

Well, well, well. According to a recent article in Bloomberg.com, it appears that JPMorgan Chase is going to try skating across the frozen private label pond once again.  For those with any recollection of what caused the collapse of the credit markets and resulting implosion of the housing market, this may or may not come as a surprise. After all, it’s been over five years since the 3Q tipping point was reached in 2007.  Memories fade; especially for traders who thrive on risk using other people’s money. Continue reading “JPMorgan Chase’s Venture Back Into The Private Label Secondary Market”

 

“Greed is good.”  Gordon Gecko, Wall Street, 1987.

I suppose some would say it is unfair to paint all Big Banks with the same HSBC brush, now that it’s openly admitted to money laundering for terrorist organizations and drug cartels.  Well, too bad; I can’t resist.  They just have too many things in common:

  • Ethical and moral vacuity;
  • A complete absence of personal, i.e. “human” accountability;
  • Rapacious corporate conduct that belies their PR platitudes.

Continue reading “HSBC’s Heartfelt Apology; Sort Of….”

Following a rough and tumble year in the banking industry, Belial Bank’s feckless fearless leader, B.L. Zebub, believes it is high time to bring some levity and loyalty to the lowly troops who have been tirelessly foreclosing all the Beleaguered Borrowers they may have missed the first and second time around.  Mostly, however, B.L. is concerned about the reputational damage his bank has suffered this year.  Once known as the largest bank in America as measured by hubris, it is at risk of losing this mantle of distinction.  On the Chinese calendar, 2012 has been Belial Bank’s Year of the Rat.

B.L. is hoping against hope to instill a sense of pride among the rank and file; he knows that his company’s  promise to the feds to install a “single point of contact” [or “SPOC”] for every borrower seeking help, has become a sham.  Problem is, after a couple of weeks on the job, the SPOCs either quit, get fired, or leave to take more respectable jobs in the collection and repo industries. And then there was the public relations nightmare Belial Bank suffered after it was disclosed to the press that the top brass were giving prizes to supervisors who could run up the highest number of SPOCs for a single borrower in the shortest amount of time.  Last week’s big winner, Art O. DeLay, won a hundred crisp dollar bills and the afternoon off to visit The Devil’s Den Gentlemen’s Club, conveniently located just down the street from Belial’s headquarters.  [Cover charge waived.] Continue reading “Belial Bank’s 2012 Holiday Planning Meeting”