Well the jury’s in. And the results are not good. It appears we are more lenient towards white-collar financial crimes than ever, with fewer financial crimes cited and lesser fines/settlements paid. In our present administration, fines and settlements against corporations have plummeted and prosecutions of individuals are falling to record lows. In the last administration the Department… [Read More]
The Whistleblower Newsroom; Is This a Conspiracy?
This last week I had the honor of being interviewed for The Whistleblower Newsroom, a podcast by whistleblowers, for whistleblowers, developed and hosted by journalists Celia Farber, TruthBarrier.com, and Kristina Borjesson. Although I had visited with Ms. Borjesson several times on the phone over the last three years, we first met last November at the… [Read More]
So it’s about bank mergers, stupid!
The world’s largest bank merger in more than a decade has been proposed, and poses concerns many are saying we need to pay attention to. This proposed merger, with BB&T Corp purchasing SunTrust Banks Inc. for $28.2 billion combines two regional lending powerhouses and creates the sixth-largest U.S. retail bank in the U.S. This is… [Read More]
Crapo Spin: Too Big to Fail … Too Small to Succeed
Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, spearheaded a major rollback of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act: The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. The Crapo Bill was a recent topic of hot debate which had passed in the Senate, has now passed unchanged in the House, and has morphed into the Bank Lobbyist… [Read More]
Senator Warren Calls Out the DOJ – They Ignored 11 Congressional Commission Criminal Referrals!
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Member of the Senate Banking Committee and Ranking Minority Member of the Sub-Committee on Economic Policy, wrote two highly provocative letters this last week requesting a formal investigation into why President Obama’s administration has not brought criminal charges against the individuals and corporations involved in the 2007-2008 financial crisis. According to Bloomberg, Senator… [Read More]
The Elephant in the Room – Why no TBTF Prosecutions?
The elephant in the room is still why there have been no criminal prosecutions of the banks, executives and Wall Street traders who were primarily responsible for the 2008 financial crisis. There has been no obvious answer, although our Department of Justice continues to dance around the question. In his most recent article, my friend… [Read More]
Campaign Contributions and Politicians’ “Promises”
This post is not about conspiracy theory nor is it a political statement. Just an ironic commentary on the influence peddling that goes on between politicians and big companies, which unfortunately hurts the economy, the taxpayer and small business. Recently my colleagues, Gary Aguirre, William Black, Michael Winston and I formed a probono group and policy… [Read More]
Bank Whistleblowers United… Restoring the Rule of Law to Banking
My colleagues and I have formed a probono group and policy initiative with a goal to restore the rule of law to Wall Street and accelerate our work to “greatly reduce the risk and cost of future financial crisis.” Gary Aquirre, William Black, Michael Winston and I are the founding members of Bank Whistleblowers United. Each… [Read More]
The Large Bank Stranglehold is Tightened!
I continue to tell my audiences the large banks have a “stranglehold” on our country and that “The Dodd-Frank provisions attempting to place controls on the large banks have been systematically gutted …” As 2015 comes to a close all eyes in Washington D.C. are looking at a critical deadline which looms over Congress, our… [Read More]
History Repeats Itself… Congress Tries to Reinstate Controls on the TBTF Banks
In May, Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary, listed restoration of Glass-Stegall as a key Presidential candidacy criterion. Reich was in Iowa for the Raising Wages/Working Families Summit – the first of a national series – where he was the featured speaker. The reinstatement of Glass–Steagall is steadily gathering public support. A bipartisan group of senators… [Read More]
