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May 10, 2022 By Richard Bowen

Ethics in the Last and Next Financial Crisis

Image of Richard M. Bowen speaking to a class at A&M Commerce at Dallas.

I spoke recently at the new Dallas campus of Texas A&M Commerce University to their graduate and undergraduate business students and alumni, with many others, including some Texas A&M financial planning students, attending virtually via zoom.

Professor Jared Pickens, the organizer of the event, asked me to speak on “Ethics in the Last and Next Financial Crisis,” a favorite subject of mine.

We talked about the breakdowns of ethics I had witnessed when Citigroup sold defective mortgages representing to the purchasers that the mortgages were not defective, with this fraudulent behavior leading to the massive losses in mortgage-backed securities which fueled the resulting financial crisis. And it was noted that these breakdowns also occurred at many of the large banks, as evidenced by many other whistleblowers coming forward.

We specifically discussed my warning Citigroup management for eighteen months about the potential huge losses and, finally, after directly warning Robert Rubin, the newly-elected Chairman of the Board, my being stripped of my responsibilities and told not to come back to the bank.

I also subsequently witnessed breakdowns of government ethics at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and the Department of Justice, when those agencies attempted to conceal my evidence and testimony from the American public. This resulted in no one holding bankers accountable for their massive fraud.

I shared with the soon-to-graduate students some significant research into how they can tell if a corporation has an “ethical corporate culture” and how they evaluate what to do if they witness unethical behavior at the office.

And we also discussed the Corruption Perception Index “CPI” published annually by Transparency International, which the most widely recognized ranking of public sector (government) corruption in each of the countries of the world. This shows that the U.S. continues to slip and is now tied with Chile and ranking 27th in the world with regard to corruption (25 countries in the world have less government corruption than the U.S. and Chile). Unfortunately, these statistics do not bode well for future effective government regulation and reinforces the possibility of still another, even more costly, financial crisis.

However, in the follow-on Q&A session the students recognized the need for ethical behavior and decision making and the absolute importance of the students being true to themselves in their careers. This recognition, truly, is the only way our country can reverse the ethical decline of our country.

Americans Who Tell the Truth, Speaking Truth to Youth Video Series
Speaking on Resisting Corporate Corruption

Tagged With: A&M Commerce at Dallas, business ethics, Corruption, ethical leadership, Ethics

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Richard Bowen is widely known as the Citigroup whistleblower. As Business Chief Underwriter for Citigroup during the housing bubble financial crisis meltdown, he repeatedly warned Citi executive management and the board about fraudulent behavior within the organization. The company certified poor mortgages as quality mortgages and sold them to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other investors.

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What People Are Saying About Richard M. Bowen

William D. Cohan"Richard Bowen is one of my heroes. His is a story of human fortitude at its best and Wall Street at its worst."

~ William D. Cohan, NY Times Best Selling Author
2017-06-30T10:08:59-05:00
"Richard Bowen is one of my heroes. His is a story of human fortitude at its best and Wall Street at its worst." ~ William D. Cohan, NY Times Best Selling Author
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/2556/

Eileen McDonnell"Richard Bowen reinforced my motto that "there is no right way to do a wrong thing.” Long after his presentation, the conversation has continued about personal responsibility and the courage to challenge things that appear to be wrong. We encourage this dialog and rely on it to help make our business stronger."

~ Eileen McDonnell, Chairman, CEO, & President, Penn Mutual
2015-02-13T19:51:19-06:00
"Richard Bowen reinforced my motto that "there is no right way to do a wrong thing.” Long after his presentation, the conversation has continued about personal responsibility and the courage to challenge things that appear to be wrong. We encourage this dialog and rely on it to help make our business stronger." ~ Eileen McDonnell, Chairman, CEO, & President, Penn Mutual
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/711/

Ben Stein"Richard Bowen, you are a star and a hero."

~ Ben Stein, Economist and Political Commentator
2015-02-13T19:50:26-06:00
"Richard Bowen, you are a star and a hero." ~ Ben Stein, Economist and Political Commentator
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/712/

Jim Farrell"Richard's speech at the April Financial Executives International dinner was informative, interesting, riveting, and fast moving.  The feedback from members was overwhelming positive, and Richard received one of the few standing ovations given by our membership."

~ Jim Farrell, Program Chairman, Dallas Chapter, Financial Executives International
2014-12-28T19:48:17-06:00
"Richard's speech at the April Financial Executives International dinner was informative, interesting, riveting, and fast moving.  The feedback from members was overwhelming positive, and Richard received one of the few standing ovations given by our membership." ~ Jim Farrell, Program Chairman, Dallas Chapter, Financial Executives International
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/532/

Dennis McCuistion"Richard Bowen has been there, done that, and has the scars to prove it, and his message of corruption at the highest levels of industry and government needs to be heard. I only wish that more bankers had the courage that Bowen exhibits. He is not only one of the most talented bankers I have ever met, he has more integrity than all the bankers on Wall Street put together. If his former employer had listened to him taxpayers would not have had to bail out Citi for the third time in the last 30 years."

~ Dennis McCuistion, Host of the McCuistion TV program
2014-12-28T19:48:06-06:00
"Richard Bowen has been there, done that, and has the scars to prove it, and his message of corruption at the highest levels of industry and government needs to be heard. I only wish that more bankers had the courage that Bowen exhibits. He is not only one of the most talented bankers I have ever met, he has more integrity than all the bankers on Wall Street put together. If his former employer had listened to him taxpayers would not have had to bail out Citi for the third time in the last 30 years." ~ Dennis McCuistion, Host of the McCuistion TV program
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/533/

Betty Garrett"Richard Bowen is a dynamic, entertaining speaker and story-teller - a CPA with a great personality!"

~ Betty Garrett, Garrett Speakers International
2014-12-28T19:47:50-06:00
"Richard Bowen is a dynamic, entertaining speaker and story-teller - a CPA with a great personality!" ~ Betty Garrett, Garrett Speakers International
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/531/

fred-timmons"I believe Richard Bowen is the only keynote speaker to ever receive a standing ovation from the Texas Society of CPA’s at any of its annual conferences."

~ Fred Timmons, Chairman of The Texas Society of CPA's
2014-12-28T19:47:22-06:00
"I believe Richard Bowen is the only keynote speaker to ever receive a standing ovation from the Texas Society of CPA’s at any of its annual conferences." ~ Fred Timmons, Chairman of The Texas Society of CPA's
https://richardmbowen.com/testimonials/530/

Presentation Topics

Playing for High Stakes: The Principles and Practice of Ethical Leadership

Dark Citi: The Story of a Whistleblower

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Now an ethical leadership speaker, Richard Bowen was Citigroup's Business Chief Underwriter during the housing bubble.

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