For those who insist that Wall Street is not the problem, and what we really need is less financial regulation, um…
Citigroup has agreed to pay $285 million to settle a civil fraud complaint that it misled investors in a $1 billion derivatives deal tied to the United States housing market, then bet against the investors as the housing market began to show signs of distress, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday.
And this scam wasn’t some one-off. Earlier this year JP Morgan Chase agreed to pay $153.6 million to settle US Securities and Exchange Commission fraud charges, while Goldman Sachs settled similar charges last year by paying $550 million. The Federal Housing Finance Agency alone has filed 17 separate suits against some of the worlds biggest banks, and covering over $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities. Indeed, much of the real estate bubble appears to have been fueled by massive fraud on the part of some of our largest, since-bailed-out Wall Street institutions.
But, no, Wall Street is not the problem. The Occupiers’ anger is misplaced. They have only themselves to blame.
$285 million is 7% of Citigroup’s third quarter profit. In other words: Chump change. And guess who the chumps are?
Got jail terms?
Got trust busting?
Epic Fail for America.
They not only enjoy socializing the losses, the big banks and 1% want nothing more than to socialize the responsibility for the crisis as well.
Yeah. In case anybody with a wrecking ball is interested:
CityGroup Corp Headquarters
399 Park Avenue, Manhattan,
New York City, New York, U.S.
And that’s as far as it’ll go – a few fines in dollar amounts that make the average ‘Murkins eyes boggle, but which, as @1 points out is a mere drop in the bucket in terms of their total Capitlization – and which will, naturally, be passed along to their customers as just another “cost of doing business”. But, not a single individual will be indicted, no one will go to jail over this, the CEO’s of these thieving companies will continue to draw multi-million dollar salaries, and politicians on the Right will continue to insist that the answer to preventing things like this from happening in the future is to get rid of all the “onerous regulations” that allowed the SEC to exact even this pitiful judgement against the malefactors in the first place.
Seattleblues told me it’s my fault that I’m underpaid because I’m lazy and shiftless.
I guess if I were industrious and responsible I, too, could have gone to business school and now be stealing billions from my neighbors.
How much money did Elevated lose?
Does anyone know how/when/if these fines get collected? Do the banks stall, ask for payment plans, say the check’s in the mail, etc.? Does the SEC just make a withdrawal from the bank in question?
@8 – I really don’t want to find out the government just… opens an account with the bank for their fines. Please somebody tell me that doesn’t happen.
@7: Seriously, I’d like to know what point, if any, you’re trying to make?
SCIENCE.
@5.
Not that the republicans are totally clean in this,.. But why the assertion that this problem came from the right. Clinton fought the regulation of Fan/Freddie, drove the market of leveraged loans, and Obama’ justice dept has done jack shit. You’re not gonna get the change you want if you keep diving the Democrats a hall pass for fucking up, in the name of party unity. The African American community has been excusing the Dems for decades… and exactly how’s that workin’ out for ’em?
Spend less time apportioning blame to another party, and more time reinforcing expectations for representation of your own interests in your chosen party, and maybe you’ll find the change you seek.
Free market, self regulation barf barf barf
… and who keeps giving these banks money and letting them off the hook? Politicians you vote for … erm … I mean politicians the voters vote for most likely.
slap on the wrist. they should be in jail, and their corporation should be seized and its equity handed over to the us treasury to go to create jobs.
obama is the biggest recipient of wall st. cash. in truth, we do not punish nor regulate wall st. and the liberals and progressives and OWS should be yelling to the high heavens about this. instead, they are fooled into thinking this level of fine is a serious punishment.
it’s not.
@19: and those of us who keep doing business with them. Nov 5, close your account?
And, it’s clear they’re all in cahoots. That’s as much of a dead horse as you can kick.